Canton 10
Canton 10's Croatian border location shapes its identity: Livno cheese exports, cross-border employment, and emerging wind energy diversify a rural economy.
Canton 10, also known as Livno Canton or Herceg-Bosna Canton, occupies the western edge of Bosnia-Herzegovina bordering Croatia. This predominantly Croat canton reflects the ethnic mapping that Dayton formalized, creating administrative units that align with wartime territorial control rather than pre-war settlement patterns. The name 'Canton 10' itself suggests bureaucratic creation—a number rather than a place identity.
The economy depends heavily on cross-border ties with Croatia. The Livno field, a karst polje (flatland), provides agricultural potential unusual in mountainous Bosnia. Livestock grazing, particularly sheep and the famous Livno cheese, connects local production to broader Adriatic markets. The proximity to Split and the Dalmatian coast creates seasonal migration patterns as workers seek employment in Croatian tourism.
Wind energy development represents emerging opportunity. The karst landscape channels winds that modern turbines can harvest, attracting renewable energy investment that other cantons lack. Whether Canton 10 can develop economic identity beyond Croatian dependency—or whether its future lies in deeper integration with the Croatian economy regardless of state borders—remains the central strategic question.