Environmental issues in Serbia

Environmental issues in Serbia include air pollution, deforestation, various categories of threat to endemic species and climate changes. Several environmental organizations operating in Serbia have protested the government's handling of these issues.^[1][2]

TPP Nikola Tesla in Obrenovac

1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia

Sites in Kosovo and southern Central Serbia where NATO aviation used depleted uranium during the 1999 Kosovo War.

The NATO bombings of 1999 caused lasting damage to the environment of Serbia, with several thousand tons of toxic chemicals stored in targeted factories being released into the soil, atmosphere and water basins affecting humans and the local wildlife.^[3]

In 2001, doctors at the Serb-run hospital in Kosovska Mitrovica say the number of patients with malignant diseases has increased by 200% since 1998.^[4] In the same year, the World Health Organization reported that data from Kosovo was inconclusive and called for further studies.^[5]

A 2003 study by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Bosnia and Herzegovina stated that low levels of contaminate were found in drinking water and air particulate at DU penetrator impact points. The levels were stated as not a cause for alarm. Yet, Pekka Haavisto, chairman of the UNEP DU projects stated, "The findings of this study stress again the importance of appropriate clean-up and civil protection measures in a post-conflict situation."^[6]

Pollution

Air pollution

According to a WHO report, Serbia has higher estimates of premature death due to air pollution than most countries in the European Union.^[7] Assessments of air quality based on data from monitoring stations managed by national authorities indicate that the concentrations of air pollutants, especially particular matter, regularly exceed the levels that protect human health.^[7] The report states that the main sources of outdoor air pollution in Serbia include the energy sector, the transport sector, waste dump sites and industrial activities, such as the petrochemical industry complex in Pančevo and Novi Sad; cement factories in Popovac, Kosjerić and Beočin; chemical plants and metallurgical complexes in Smederevo, Sevojno and Bor; thermal power plants in Obrenovac, Lazarevac and Kostolac. Other documented sources of air pollution include fossil fuel-based individual household heating in periurban and rural towns and increasing road traffic, especially in large cities such as Belgrade, Novi Sad and Niš.

In January 2020, hundreds of people, some wearing surgical masks and respirators, attended a protest in Belgrade, demanding the government tackle severe air pollution.^[1] In March, the Air Visual API website ranked Belgrade temporarily at the top of its global index of cities with the worst air pollution.^[8]

Water contamination

Findings of a WHO-supported survey in Serbia have shown that one third of rural water systems inspected in Serbia did not meet standards for microbiological drinking-water quality, which has led the Serbian government to revise some of its regulation.^[9] Contamination of water in Serbia is also sometimes caused by frequent floods. Human contact with this polluted water can cause various health problems, such as infections, skin inflammation or conjunctiva.^[10] Many cities, towns and villages have higher levels of arsenic in water than allowed by law and recommended by the WHO. The autonomous province of Vojvodina has the biggest problem with arsenic polluted water, with readings from Novi Bečej reaching up to 27 times the legal limit.^[11]

Small Hydropower Plants

Around 100 small hydropower plants have been built in Serbia, according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection. The state power company offers strong incentives and commits to buying electricity generated by the plants at a price 50 percent higher than the market rate.^[2]

In 2018, thousands of citizens of Pirot protested against the construction of small hydropower plants in protected areas. Activists of the environmental initiative Defend the Rivers of Stara Planina (Odbranimo reke Stare planine) have requested for the construction to stop in all protected areas and performed multiple actions to prevent further construction.^[12] The village of Rakita has become an important front in their battle. In May 2019, the president of the local community attempted to stop the machines he claimed were working outside of the construction site. When the police intervened, he promised to jump in the river if they attempted to arrest him. The construction of the plant had created a landslide that destroyed the road in the village.^[13] Helped by environmental activists, villagers in Rakita have removed pipes installed to serve a new hydroelectric power plant on the Rakitska river.^[2]

Deforestation

Košutnjak forest in Belgrade.

According to Global Forest Watch, Serbia lost 52.8kha of tree cover from 2001 to 2019, equivalent to a 1.9% decrease in tree cover since 2000.^[14] The loss of forest cover can be attributed to illegal forest cutting, uncontrolled livestock grazing and forest fires.^[15] In 2020, the environmental initiative Do Not Let Belgrade D(r)own launched a petition against cutting down of trees in the Košutnjak forest. The petition was signed by over 70 000 people.^[16]

Serbia had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 5.29/10, ranking it 105th globally out of 172 countries.^[17]

Endangered species

270 animal species and 600 plant species in Serbia are considered to be under threat. The drainage of swamps and marshes for purposes of agricultural expansion have caused a loss of natural habitat, resulting in a decline in biodiversity.^[15]

Climate change

Floods

Floods have become the dominant natural disaster in Serbia and it is projected that the number of floods will grow.^[10] In the past ten years, the most affected areas were western and central Serbia.

Flood in Obrenovac, 2014.

Drought

Droughts, which are already frequent in Serbia, are also expected to become more common. They have significantly impacted agriculture, fruit farming and the wine industry.^[10]

High temperatures

Between the beginning of January and the end of September 2020 there were four heat waves in Serbia.^[10] The frequency of heat waves has become a major threat to fruit farming.

Impact of climate change

Many families have lost their homes, fields and lives due to climate change in Serbia. According to Goran Trivan, the Minister of Environmental Protection, in the period from 2000 to 2015, the financial damage caused by climate change is estimated to be over five billion euros.^[10]

Government response

Though it is part of the Paris Agreement, Serbia still invests in coal-fired power stations and it has still not passed environmental law and strategy in accordance with EU's climate change policy.^[10] There is also a lack of documentation and understanding of climate changes in Serbia and their potential impacts on biodiversity.^[15]

See also

• Climate of Serbia
• Geography of Serbia
• NATO bombing of Yugoslavia

References

1. Vasovic, Aleksandar (17 January 2020). "Serbians don masks and take to smog-filled streets to demand cleaner air". Archived from the original on October 19, 2020.
2. "Villagers in Serbia tear out hydropower pipes in protest over river". 16 August 2020.
3. 58-3 Archived 2011-05-11 at the Wayback Machine: "From the Pancevo industrial complex (petrochemical plant, fertilizer plant and oil refinery), which stands at the confluence of the Tamis River and the Danube, more than 100 tons of mercury, 2,100 metric tons of 1.2-dichlorethane, 1,500 tons of vinyl chloride (3,000 times higher than permitted levels), 15,000 tons of ammonia, 800 tons of hydrochloric acid, 250 tons of liquid chlorine, vast quantities of dioxin (a component of Agent Orange and other defoliants), and significant quantities of sulphur dioxide and nitrates were released into the atmosphere, soil and waterways. From the Zastava car factory in Kragujevac, unknown quantities of pyralene oil leaked into the Lepenica River (a tributary of the Velika Morava) via the sewage system."
4. "BBC News | EUROPE | Uranium tests for Serbs". News.bbc.co.uk. 15 January 2001. Retrieved 2008-09-08.
5. Report of the WHO's Depleted Uranium Mission to Kosovo (pdf 123kb) January 22–31, 2001
6. Low-level DU contamination found in Bosnia and Herzegovina, UNEP calls for precaution United Nations Environment Programme, 25 March 2003. Retrieved January 25, 2009.
7. "Health Impact of Ambient Air Pollution in Serbia" (PDF).
8. "World's worst air adds to Serbian capital's coronavirus woes". Reuters. 27 March 2020.
9. "Safe drinking-water in Europe?". 20 March 2018.
10. "Number of Floods and Droughts Increases, Serbian Government Does Not Combat Climate Change". Center for Investigative Journalism of Serbia. 28 October 2020.
11. Stanić, Miloš (10 March 2018). "Toxic Taps: Arsenic in Water Stirs Cancer Fears". Balkan Insight.
12. Dimitrijević, Uroš (4 September 2018). "Protest u Pirotu: "Hoću reke neću cevovod"". BBC.
13. Marinković, Lazara (29 May 2019). "Mini-hidroelektrane u Srbiji: Zašto su borci za opstanak reka spremni da žrtvuju i sopstvenu slobodu". BBC News Na Srpskom.
14. "Serbia Deforestation Rates & Statistics".
15. "Biodiversity Serbia".
16. Dragojlo, Saša. "Grassroots Group Eyes Belgrade on Route to Toppling Serbian President". Balkan Insight.
17. Grantham, H. S.; Duncan, A.; Evans, T. D.; Jones, K. R.; Beyer, H. L.; Schuster, R.; Walston, J.; Ray, J. C.; Robinson, J. G.; Callow, M.; Clements, T.; Costa, H. M.; DeGemmis, A.; Elsen, P. R.; Ervin, J.; Franco, P.; Goldman, E.; Goetz, S.; Hansen, A.; Hofsvang, E.; Jantz, P.; Jupiter, S.; Kang, A.; Langhammer, P.; Laurance, W. F.; Lieberman, S.; Linkie, M.; Malhi, Y.; Maxwell, S.; Mendez, M.; Mittermeier, R.; Murray, N. J.; Possingham, H.; Radachowsky, J.; Saatchi, S.; Samper, C.; Silverman, J.; Shapiro, A.; Strassburg, B.; Stevens, T.; Stokes, E.; Taylor, R.; Tear, T.; Tizard, R.; Venter, O.; Visconti, P.; Wang, S.; Watson, J. E. M. (2020). "Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity - Supplementary Material". Nature Communications. 11 (1): 5978. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 7723057. PMID 33293507.