Neretva is the largest river of the eastern part of the Adriatic basin. It has been harnessed and controlled to a large extent by four HE power-plants with large dams (higher than 15 meters)and their storage lakes, but it is still recognized for its natural beauty, diversity of its landscape and visual attractiveness. At its delta, a specific way of human living has developed, which now is passing away.



Running past towns and villages in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Neretva spills out into the Adriatic Sea, building a delta of wetlands so rich, it is listed under the Ramsar Convention as internationally important. In this lower valley in Croatia, the Neretva River splinters into multiple courses, creating a delta covering approximately 12,000 hectares. The delta in Croatia has been reduced by extensive land reclamation projects, and now the river flows in just three branches, a drop from the previous twelve. The marshes, lagoons and lakes that once dotted this plain have disappeared and only fragments of the old Mediterranean wetlands have survived. Hopefully the area of the Neretva Delta will become a Nature Park, as has been proposed. The area presents a variety of habitats which form a beautiful and remarkable landscape. Wetlands, marshes and lagoons, lakes, beaches, rivers, hummocks (limestone hills) and mountains combine into a mosaic of natural habitats of the Neretva Delta, although five protected localities with a total surface of 1,620 ha already exist. These are the ornithological, ichthyologic reserves and the protected landscapes.