Vlasina. 20/11/2007; Serbia; 3,209 ha; 42°42'N 022°21'E. Landscape of Outstanding Features; IBA. Comprises the Vlasinsko reservoir (created in 1949) and surrounding gently rolling hills, jagged shore, wet meadows, peat bogs, and the valley of the River Vlasina, along with two islands and several narrow and elongated peninsulas with many meadows and birch thickets, giving the site a characteristic and unique appearance. The peat island and peat bogs represent one of the most important refuges of the boreal flora in southern Europe in general. The site harbors many rare and threatened vegetal and animal species. More than 125 bird species are recorded, amongst them the endangered corncrake (Crex crex) which nests every year within the site and on sloping meadows of the surrounding mountains, as well as a colony of sand martins (Riparia riparia) with around 300 active nests, unique in this biogeographical region. Prior to creation of the reservoir, the Vlasinsko Blato, or peat bog, was considered the largest peat bog in the Balkans and one of the largest in Europe. There are 1,400 farming households in the area, but the human population is declining as in other mountainous areas of Serbia. Sport fishing and other recreation, as well as tourism, supplement small-scale farming. Ramsar site no. 1738. Most recent RIS information: 2008.