24.09.2021.

MUSEUM RENOVATION LEADS TO REDISCOVERY OF FORGOTTEN EXHIBITION

"One of the reasons why this permanent exhibit has not been displayed for the past 30 years is the condition this part of the building is in. The east wing of the Archaeology Department was leaking," we were told by archaeologist Andrijana Pravidur, adviser to the Museum.

A 12.5-meter long dugout, made from a single piece of oak, was the main means of transport on rivers during the Iron Age in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina. The monoxyl from Donja Dolina, near Gradiška, was discovered together with pile dwellings more than 100 years ago. Today, it is the longest such vessel that is in existence in the entire Southeast European area. After three decades, the public will soon be able to see this reminder of the prehistoric age at the National Museum of BiH.

"One of the reasons why this permanent exhibit has not been displayed for the past 30 years is the condition this part of the building is in. The east wing of the Archaeology Department was leaking," we were told by archaeologist Andrijana Pravidur, adviser to the Museum.

She added that worn out windows and electrical installations and inadequate infrastructure did not allow them to exhibit the valuable items kept by the Museum, which was established in 1888.

Due to a lack of funds and lack of investments in reconstruction of the museum building, not even all of the damage done in the 1992-1995 war has been repaired to date. Many parts of the building suffered from inadequate conditions to store around 3 million items kept in the Museum.

The replacement of external doors and windows was carried out between September 2019 and August 2020. This was a key precondition to start the preparations for a grand reopening of the prehistoric exhibition, which many generations had been prevented from seeing. The cost of around half a million convertible marks was split between Sweden, via the Green Economic Development (GED) project, and the Ministry of Civil Affairs of BiH. The works were implemented by UNDP and UNESCO.

"The old windows became crooked. Panes were missing and there were no curtains, and they were made of the thinnest glass. We are talking about major improvements in terms of energy efficiency, because being installed are state-of-the-art thermal isolation panes, and we are trying to apply all standards to make the museum as sustainable as is possible. Our collections -- especially the organic ones, which is mostly the case with the Natural Sciences Department or the Archaeological Department -- are highly sensitive to temperature and humidity oscillations, and particularly to the possibility of the external living world penetrating the collections of the former living world. This is why is it important for us to protect the buildings to the extent that minimizes penetration of atmospheric elements and various intruders and pests -- bugs. Considering that the museum is surrounded by trees, this poses a direct penetration threat for the exhibitions and collections, which, in turn, is very difficult to control and fix," Museum Director Mirsad Sijarić explained.

RESEARCH AND CLIMATE CHANGE

"I've been here all my life," Sijarić, who is an archaeologist by vocation, said. He began visiting the museum as a student back in 1996. Today, he also holds the post of curator for the Late Middle Ages. "This is a living organism. People come and work here. We conduct research, prepare exhibitions, handle the collections, and involve ourselves in different types of museum activities. There is a need to protect the museum collections, especially because of what we see happening with climate change, which is causing a veritable extinction of species."

The National Museum complex sits in downtown Sarajevo and consists of four buildings: the Archaeology Department, which occupies two wings and includes the main entrance to the museum; the Ethnological Department; the Natural Sciences Department; and the administrative building, which includes a library that houses around 300,000 books, scientific journals, and other documents. Isolated from the noise of the traffic, a botanical garden is tucked between the four buildings, and there you can see different plant species, like the endemic Pančić spruce.

"Unfortunately, museum collections will remain as rare sources of information about many species that are currently active and living, as well as about all those that have become extinct. What the international scientific community is trying to do right now is use museum collections and data that can be extracted from them to arrive at certain conclusions and identify patterns, as this is not the first time that we have such massive disappearance and destruction of biodiversity, which has direct impact on the climate and the entire life on the planet," Sijarić noted.

"Natural science museums are trying to build an integrated information system, so that scientists could extract data and possibly exert influence by giving recommendations as to how this catastrophe could be mitigated," he explained. As the biggest institution of its kind in BiH, he added, they are preoccupied with financial problems and repairing the infrastructure, which is why they have minimal capacities to get involved in world research trends, even though this should be the focus of their work.

Climate change impact has intensified. Scientific research shows that some of these changes had not occurred "in thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of years" but are already visible, as is the case with the continuous rising of sea levels. This is a conclusion from the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC).

The report notes that it is possible to stop the negative trends through strong and sustainable reduction of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. This would lead to rapid improvement of air quality, while a global temperature stabilization should take 20 to 30 years. If this does not happen, scientific findings say that the level of global warming in the decades ahead cannot be halted. The report suggests that greenhouse gases generated by human activities led to global warming by 1.1°C from 1850 to 1900. Anticipated in the next 20 years is an average warming of more than 1.5°C.

This year's theme for the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies is "Clean Air, Clean Planet." This is an attempt to warn about the damage done to health by air pollution, especially considering the COVID-19 pandemic. The international community recognizes that improvement of air quality can have a positive impact on climate change.

SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY

Known as the guardian of the famous Sarajevo Haggadah, the National Museum of BiH is a place where everyone can find something that interests them, and Sijarić said that the youngest visitors are most attracted to exhibitions in the domain of natural sciences.

Sijarić recalled that the museum was closed to the public from 2012 to 2015 because of funding problems. During that time, this institution's debts had accumulated. Although the debt problem has been solved, the problem of stable financing remains. Thanks to donor funds, the museum is renovating its buildings, which will result in better exhibitions.

After being closed for 30 years, the prehistoric exhibition will once again shine in early October, offering evidence and records of a distant past. Items will be displayed on two floors of the Archaeology Department, where visitors will be able to see the wooden vessel more than 3,000 years old, reconstructions showing how people lived in the fifth millennium BCE, and hundreds of exhibits that bear witness to this and that will mean hours of watching and studying.

The GED project is funded by Sweden and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of BiH, the Environmental Fund of the FBiH and the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund of the Republic of Srpska, the entity ministries of spatial planning and energy, cantonal ministries, municipalities and other partners. The GED project aims to facilitate favourable conditions for investments in energy efficiency projects, increase the number of green jobs, as well as to contribute to environmental protection and economic development of Bosnia and Herzegovina.