How to find EU and donor funding calls in BiH and prepare before they open
Calls of programmes run by the European Commission and calls of the EU Delegation to BiH appear on the Funding & Tenders Portal and in the "EU Funding & Me" app. Interreg programmes and donors such as UNDP publish calls on their own sites. An application takes months, so register your organisation and prepare documents before a call opens.
East Herzegovina in numbers: population, jobs and tourism by municipality
Trebinje had 105,591 tourist arrivals in 2025, about a fifth of the Republika Srpska total (514,740), but fewer than in 2024 (107,567). Bileća had 672, Gacko 649, Nevesinje 378 and Kalinovik 269. There is no data for Ljubinje and Berkovići. Population is falling in every municipality except Trebinje.
Wastewater from a rural guesthouse in RS: septic tank, water-law acts, water sources
A guesthouse without a public sewer must collect and treat its wastewater so it does not pollute water. Direct discharge into groundwater is banned. If wastewater flows into soil or a watercourse, water-law acts are needed: JU "Vode Srpske" issues them for business premises, including accommodation, and the municipality for residential buildings up to 1,000 m2.
Guest fishing in Republika Srpska: permits, prices and rules
A guest from BiH or abroad may fish in Republika Srpska with a daily, weekly, monthly or seasonal (180-day) permit sold by the holder of the fishing zone. A daily permit costs 15 to 60 KM, a seasonal one 170 KM. The catch may not be sold, and fish caught in the closed season or below the minimum size must be returned to the water.
Building on agricultural land in Republika Srpska: conversion fee and exemptions
Anyone building on agricultural land must get an agricultural consent from the municipality and pay a one-time conversion fee before the building permit. Among others, registered family farms building a house up to 500 m2 in a rural area and investors in farm buildings do not pay the fee.
Building permit in Republika Srpska: what needs one, steps and fees in Trebinje
A new barn, a guesthouse extension or a new farm building in Republika Srpska needs a building permit from the municipal or city spatial planning department. Only structures listed in Article 125, such as polytunnels and auxiliary buildings next to a house with a permit, can be built without one, after reporting the works to the inspectorate. In Trebinje you apply at the Citizens Service Centre.
Smoked meat and fish: benzo(a)pyrene limits and how to stay below them in the smokehouse
In BiH, smoked meat and the muscle meat of smoked fish may contain at most 2.0 µg/kg benzo(a)pyrene and 12.0 µg/kg for the sum of four PAHs. The EU uses the same limits. Resin-free wood, smouldering instead of flame and more distance from the fire can lower PAH levels, but only laboratory analysis shows whether a product is under the limit.
Monthly tourism statistics report TU-11 for accommodation: who files it and by when
Businesses that provide accommodation to guests in Republika Srpska file a monthly report on tourists and nights (TU-11) with the Republika Srpska Institute of Statistics, by the 7th of the month for the previous month. Arrivals and nights are copied from the guest book. The report goes to a regional unit of the Institute, for example the one in Trebinje.
Sole trader books in Republika Srpska: simple or double entry, and how long to keep them
A sole trader in Republika Srpska keeps simple books or double-entry books. Double entry is compulsory above the income limit set by a rulebook (for now 500,000 KM of collected income). A small entrepreneur keeps only a turnover book. Documents are kept for at least five years; the journal, general ledger and subsidiary ledgers for at least ten.
Bileća municipality and farmers: what it offers, land leases and where notices appear
Bileća municipality has a small budget of its own for farmers (KM 116,248 in subsidies to producers in 2024), and its website shows no standing public call for incentives. The most concrete offer is a lease of state and municipal farmland at KM 40 to 100 per hectare a year, which the Assembly decided on 29.5.2026 and which is announced on the municipal notice board and in the municipal gazette.
Registering ownership of land and buildings in Republika Srpska: steps, fees, Trebinje
If you acquire property under a contract, you become the owner when it is entered in the public property register, not when you sign. The RUGIPP fee is 50 KM plus 0.2% of the contract value, or 50 KM for an inheritance. Apply to the regional unit where the property is; in Trebinje it is at Vuka Karadžića 12 A. Some subsidies, building permits and mortgages require registration.
Social media for a small farm or guesthouse: channel, posts, photos and messages
Start with one channel and post regularly, using real photos of your property and of guests who agreed. Do not use other people's photos without the author's permission. Answer messages and comments yourself.
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