Faculty of Forestry

On 21 March 1940, the Government of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia passed the Decree on the Establishment of the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry in Sarajevo (I. No 8223). The Decree was approved by the Council of Ministers on 30 March of the same year, thereby establishing the faculty as a separate organisational unit of the University of Belgrade. The teaching process in the field of forestry started on 10 January 1941, but the beginning of the Second World War caused the classes to be temporarily suspended. With the establishment of the College of Mountain Landscape Management at the faculty level, under the Decision of the Government of the People’s Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia, No 1, 3 January 1947), the higher education process continued.

Due to the expressed need for the forestry profession and science and due to their importance, the National Assembly of the People’s Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina passed the Law on Establishment of the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry in Sarajevo on 17 December 1948 (Official Gazette of the People’s Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nos 27 and 51), with two departments – Department of Agriculture and Department of Forestry. Classes at the Department of Forestry began in February 1949. After operating and developing jointly, a need arose to separate these two departments and establish the Faculty of Forestry as an independent unit. Under the amendments to the Law on Universities of the PR BH, on 8 November 1958 the Assembly of the PR BH passed the Decision on Establishment of Two Separate Faculties – Faculty of Agriculture and Faculty of Forestry. The independent Faculty of Forestry in Sarajevo began operating on 1 January 1959. As of the academic year 1959- 60, the Department of Wood Industry was part of the Faculty of Forestry. However, in order to develop, first of all, the machine industry for wood processing and provide better training of personnel for the needs of that industry, the Department of Wood Industry became part of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Sarajevo by the Decision of the Executive Council of the People’s Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina issued on 15 December 1961. Since then, the Faculty of Forestry of the University of Sarajevo has continued with its reorganisation and development. In the academic year 1963- 64, the four-year studies were introduced, with the graduation exam, at the Department of Forest Management and the Department of Forest Utilisation. Between 1971 and 1992, at the Faculty of Forestry in Sarajevo students were educated for the profile of highly professional staff in general forestry, i.e., Bachelor of Science in Forestry, and the postgraduate studies were also introduced. Prior to the hostilities in BH that broke out in 1992, the Faculty of Forestry was developing in accordance with the needs of the forestry and science. Since the Faculty building was then on the front line, in April 1992, activities were undertaken to move it, as much as conditions allowed. In spite of all the difficulties, already in July of the same year, a significant part of the property was safe again.

In accordance with the decision, most of the remaining property of the Faculty was packed, recorded and moved to the building of the Agricultural Institute for Potato Growing and the premises of the Wood Industry “Romanija” in Sokolac, and part was moved to the premises of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Lukavica. In November 1992, the property was moved from Sokolac to Banja Luka, to the premises of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and the Faculty of Law. The University of Banja Luka has allocated these premises to the Faculty of Forestry in Banja Luka for use, until it builds its own facility.

After acquiring the basic conditions, the Faculty of Forestry of the University of Banja Luka was registered at the Basic Court in Banja Luka. The decision to change the seat of the Faculty of Forestry in Sarajevo was issued on 12 September 1992. Classes for the first-year students began in the academic year 1993-94, and later for students of other years. In the following years (1994- 2000), there were not many delays and problems in the carrying out of the teaching and scientific process at the Faculty of Forestry, University of Banja Luka. Apart from the Faculty of Technology and Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, classes were also held in the premises of the Faculty of Economics, and some offices were also at the Faculty of Law. Since the academic year 2000-2001, classes have also been held in the extended premises of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, above block B.

Since the academic year 2007-08, the teaching process has been adjusted to the principles of the Bologna Declaration. Since then, classes have been conducted according to the 3 + 2 + 3 system, and in 2012, the system was changed to 4 + 1 + 3, which began to be applied in the academic year 2013-14. The second-cycle classes started in the academic year 2010-11.

The mission of the Faculty of Forestry of the University of Banja Luka is based on the commitment to the highest standards of education and scientific research in forestry. In view of that, the emphasis is on teaching and scientific research. The main task is to educate forestry engineers, i.e., introduce students to the scientific aspects of forestry and encourage their ability to perform professional work, i.e., solve scientific and practical issues in the field of forestry. The teaching process is based on preserving the existing and gaining new knowledge, as well as developing critical thinking. The vision of the Faculty of Forestry is to become recognisable for its quality of educating staff in the field of forestry and scientific research, as well as for the promotion of high ethical values and responsibility of humankind towards nature, forest ecosystems, people and social community as a whole. At the same time, particular attention is given to nurturing diversity and tolerance, so the Faculty is open to all those who accept its curriculum, code of conduct and ethics that it promotes. The Faculty of Forestry of the University of Banja Luka actually strives to become a regional leader in the development of forestry science and education.

Phone	+387 51 464 628
Fax	+387 51 460 550
Website	www.sf.unibl.org
E-mail	info@sf.unibl.org
Address	75a Vojvode Stepe Stepanovića Blvd. Banja Luka, 78000
Dean	Dr. Marijana Kapović-Solomun, Associate Professor
Vice-dean for Teaching	Dr. Branislav Cvjetković, Assistant Professor
Vice-Dean for Science, Research and International Cooperation	Dr. Dragan Čomić, Associate Professor