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Serbia wildfires: Experts decry lack of prevention after blaze consumes New Belgrade-sized area
๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ธ Serbia /Disasters & Emergencies

Serbia wildfires: Experts decry lack of prevention after blaze consumes New Belgrade-sized area

From N1 Serbia · () Serbian

Translated from Serbian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Wildfires in Serbia's Deliblatska Pescara burned an area the size of New Belgrade, highlighting failures in prevention and response.
  • Experts criticized the 20-day delay in seeking international aid, emphasizing that prevention is seven times cheaper than reaction.
  • The government's response was deemed overly politicized, with officials initially downplaying the severity of the fires.

Wildfires in Serbia's Deliblatska Pescara have scorched an area equivalent to the size of New Belgrade, exposing significant shortcomings in the country's prevention and response mechanisms. Experts on N1 Direktno criticized the authorities, noting that Serbia took 20 days to acknowledge its inability to manage the crisis alone.

Prevention is key, and it was absent here. Even the reaction seemed delayed. It took us 20 days to realize we don't have the capacity to solve the problem ourselves.

โ€” Danijela Boลพaniฤ‡A climate change consultant discussing the wildfire response in Serbia.

"Prevention is key, and it was absent here. Even the reaction seemed delayed," stated climate change consultant Danijela Boลพaniฤ‡. She questioned whether other nations would wait so long to request assistance, highlighting a recurring pattern of surprise and inadequate preparation for such events.

Marko Vujiฤ‡, an associate professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences, agreed that prevention is crucial, citing studies that show reactive measures are seven times more expensive than proactive ones. He argued that regimes often view ecological investments as unnecessary costs, leading to costly responses later.

Studies show it is seven times more expensive to react to consequences than to invest in prevention.

โ€” Marko Vujiฤ‡An associate professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences commenting on the costs of wildfire management.

Vujiฤ‡ also criticized the government's handling of the Deliblatska Pescara fire, calling it overly politicized. He noted that while firefighters were praised, the overall response demonstrated "serious irresponsibility" from officials. He pointed to the Interior Minister's initial denial of needing international help, followed by the president's statements, ultimately leading to the fire exceeding 4,000 hectares โ€“ an area comparable to New Belgrade.

There is serious irresponsibility from the authorities โ€“ everyone in the chain failed.

โ€” Marko Vujiฤ‡Describing the overall failure in managing the Deliblatska Pescara wildfire.

The professor added that the topic's minimal coverage in pro-government media during an election campaign suggested a deliberate effort to avoid negative narratives. He believes that without social media, 95% of the public would remain unaware of the situation.

The area burned is the size of New Belgrade, to be clear.

โ€” Marko Vujiฤ‡Quantifying the scale of the wildfire in Deliblatska Pescara.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by N1 Serbia in Serbian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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