How Belgrade’s forests were created: pioneers planted Zvezdara, the army planted Banjička

Belgrade’s forests were not simply gifts from nature. Many of the city’s largest green areas were deliberately planted by earlier generations, long before climate change became a global concern.

Those forests now face a very different city. Smog can be felt throughout the year, and even the areas often called Belgrade’s “lungs” can no longer fully clean the air. A draft urban-forest development program describes existing forests as neglected, threatened and polluted.

Belgrade had 1,105 hectares of forest in 2025. The draft program sets a target of 1,500 hectares by 2035, but the city has lost 10 percent of its green areas over the past two decades. Residents are fighting construction and concrete to protect trees wherever they can.

The largest urban forest areas include Ada Ciganlija, covering 327 hectares; Košutnjak, with 305; forests along the highway, with 157; Miljakovačka Forest, with 145; and Zvezdara Forest, with 109.

Zvezdara Forest marked its 80th anniversary in late August. Planting began on Aug. 29, 1946, after wartime deforestation and the conversion of wooded slopes into cornfields and gardens. Postwar reconstruction brought a campaign to reforest bare parts of Belgrade. Newspapers urged all citizens to take part, citing forests’ role in providing clean air, easing summer heat, protecting against the košava wind and offering workers places for recreation and recovery. “We need more forest, clean air and freshness,” one newspaper wrote in 1946.

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We need more forest, clean air and freshness.