Divčibare forests threatened by climate change, fires, and construction; authorities silent

The forests of Divčibare face a triple threat from climate change, the increasing risk of summer fires, and unchecked, widespread construction. Experts and environmental activists are raising alarms about the endangerment of white and black pine forests, but relevant authorities have remained notably silent on the escalating crisis.

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In recent years, we can freely say that we are witnessing a form of ecocide when it comes to forests and biodiversity in general.

Forestry engineer Aleksandar Manojlović characterizes the ongoing situation on the slopes of Divčibare as a "gross violation of nature." He asserts that the drying of trees and the felling of conifers are becoming rampant, while state institutions fail to intervene. Environmental activists from Kosjerić echo these concerns, pointing to the expansion of quarries and waste dumps that are encroaching upon forest areas and diminishing biodiversity.

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This is a gross violation of nature in the Mrčići and Drenovci area, where there are fewer and fewer inhabitants and where we see these forests disappearing before our eyes, the ore they exploit, and the waste dumps that are expanding.

Residents of Kosjerić are experiencing the direct consequences. Slavica Pantović, a councilor and member of the "For Clean Kosjerić" association, describes the visible disappearance of forests in areas like Mrčići and Drenovci due to mining operations and expanding waste sites. Milorad Jakovljević from Mrčići reports the pollution of streams with silt and the loss of forest cover, warning that the community is at risk of losing its drinking water supply entirely.

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We have a waste dump above the village. We have streams full of mud, our forests are being cut down, some streams have been leveled. We are losing drinking water, it's a matter of time before we lose it completely.

Further compounding the environmental damage is the detailed regulation plan for "Vidik" in Divčibare. This plan outlines the construction of a hotel complex covering 28 hectares, a significant portion of which, 16 hectares, is currently protected coniferous forest. Manojlović emphasizes that this development plan directly contradicts the Kosjerić municipality's own spatial plan. The spatial plan explicitly mandates the integration of forest and water resources, along with overall biodiversity, into the area's tourism offerings without causing harm. The "Vidik" plan, however, poses a direct threat to over 15 hectares of these crucial forests, creating a deeply problematic conflict.

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When you look from the Ražana settlement towards these open pits, it looks like a moonscape. We are afraid it will be like in Jablanica in Bosnia and Herzegovina, that erosion will occur and the water will rush down on us.