On March 20 and 21, 2025, a high-profile international conference took place in Mitrovac on Tara (Tara National Park), Serbia, as part of the subproject »Genetic adaptation of Northern chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) ecotypes to climate change and habitat loss: A case study on the endangered subspecies of Balkan chamois (R. r. balcanica)«. This subproject is conducted as a case study within the large European project Biodiversity Genomics Europe (BGE; Horizon Europe program) by a consortium of research institutions led by the Faculty of Forestry at the University of Banja Luka. The coordinator of the project is Prof. Dr. Dragan Gačić, a long-time collaborator of the Faculty of Environmental Protection (FVO), which also participates as a partner in the consortium.
Two FVO researchers, Prof. Dr. Boštjan Pokorny and Prof. Dr. Elena Bužan, contributed to the conference with invited lectures. Prof. Bužan presented the BGE project and the work of the ERGA community, which is also involved in determining reference genomes of European species (one of the first genomes determined was that of the chamois). The Dean of FVO, Prof. Dr. Pokorny, gave an overview of the population status and management of the Northern (Alpine) chamois in Slovenia, highlighting some of the threats endangering this iconic high-mountain species across Europe.
