How “Lies and Disinformation” Became Law: Government Quietly Allows Construction on Burned Forests

Days after suspicions about wind farms being built on the burned Deliblato Sands were dismissed as “lies” and “disinformation,” Serbia’s parliament quietly voted through a legal amendment that allows exactly that kind of land-use change.

The amendment to Article 88 of the Planning and Construction Law says destroyed or damaged forest land may be repurposed when necessary for a project recognized as serving the public interest, for public infrastructure, or under the protection and management regime of a protected area. In practice, the provision creates a legal basis for changing the use of land affected by fire.

President Aleksandar Vučić and government ministers Đedović Handanović and Pavkov had described concerns over possible construction on the burned Deliblato Sands as lies, disinformation and political manipulation. Transparency Serbia and the Regulatory Institute for Renewable Energy and the Environment, known as RERI, brought the amendment to public attention, prompting numerous reactions.

The issue extends beyond the 3,500 hectares of the Deliblato Sands affected by the dispute. Satellite data from the European Forest Fire Information System recorded 60 fires larger than 30 hectares across Serbia during July and August. Together, the burned area covered about 13,000 hectares, an area comparable to Kopaonik National Park. Fires also affected Stolovi, Maglič, Goč near Kraljevo, Jošanička Banja, Bor, Zaječar and Kladovo.

Deliblato Sands is a special nature reserve covering 35,000 hectares, with three levels of protection. Igor Jezdimirović of the environmental group Engineers of the Environment said the amendment could encourage a practice in which burned areas are converted to construction land or given other uses instead of being restored. “Instead of restoring areas that were affected by fire, something else is suddenly being built there,” he told N1.

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Instead of restoring areas that were affected by fire, something else is suddenly being built there.