Zvezdara Forest, an Environmental Victory

          Only six km from the center of Belgrade, the Capital city of Serbia, lies a hill with a forest reaching an altitude 253 m above sea level.  Before the Second World War, this hill was mostly covered with orchards and vineyards. In 1932, the Astronomical Observatory was constructed on top of this hill, now part of the Belgrade University. From this Observatory, the hill got its name Zvezdara, meaning something to do with stars. After the Second World War, the hill was afforested mostly through the voluntary work of young people. The forest is significant as it protects parts of the city from erosion, cleans the polluted air and is still rich in biodiversity.

 Fig. 1. Zvezdara Forest, from Google Earth Pro. 44°48'10.72"N,  20°30'42.76"E.

            From the highest point, one may observe the Danube River and further, the Pannonian Plain.

Fig. 2. View towards the Danube and Pannonian Plain.

 Fig. 3. Pictures of birds living in the forest.

 

 Fig. 4. Scientific names of birds inhabiting the forest.

             The forest is a mixture of broad-leaved trees with pine groves also. In recent years, saplings of autochthonous trees have been planted, such as ash and oak. There are quite a lot of invasive tree species. There are picnic areas.

Fig. 5. Picnic area.

 Fig. 6. Woodland

 

Fig. 7. Artificial bird nest boxes.

             There are several hiking trails, excellent for cross country skiing "langlauf" in winter.

 

 Fig. 8. Hiking trail.

             Unfortunately, during weekends and holidays, masses of visitors invade the forest, parking cars outside the parking area, leave piles  of rubbish and light fires, although these are officially forbidden. The Public Park Sevice is the custodian of this area but are helpless against those who destroy nature and the police are absent or disinterested.

 Fig. 9. Illegal fireplace.

             Fig. 10. There are old trees in the forest visited by woodpeckers.

 There is always a conflict between naturalists-ornithologists and park officials who like to remove old trees and bushes, so vital not only to birds but also for preserving biodiversity in general.

            In the year 2009, investors planned to occupy part of the forest and turn it into a building site. A small group of local citizens, enthusiasts (including the author of this article) decided to defend the forest. A petition was organized (on paper, not the popular Internet petitions) with over 3000 signatures. School events were organized to promote the forest. Several voluntary cleanups were organized to remove garbage piled up for over 30 years. The activists wrote letters to city officials, scientific bodies, even the President of the Republic. It was a tedious fight, bargaining with private investors, corruption etc. Finally, on the 29th of November, 2013, the City of Belgrade declared the Zvezdara Forest a Nature Monument with an area of 80.58 ha.

            Part of the forest enclosed by the Astronomical Observatory is also a safe environment for birds, and even a fox hole was found there. The southern part of the forest is partly the police's property, with some barracks and not part of the protected area. However,  since this area is a dense forest, it is a haven for biodiversity with hardly any human activity.

            This was a real victory  by nature lovers and unsurpassed up to now when one takes into account, the surface area protected in the center of  Belgrade.

 

 Fig. 11. Board with a map of the protected area.

             Unfortunately, one is never absolutely sure how long this area will remain as an intact forest. Greedy investors are always on the lookout, often supported by local officials. We, the protectors of this forest, hope that it will survive in the future, not only for the benefit of people but also for its wildlife.

 

All photos by the author on black and white Ilford film, 400 ASA

Guest author: Dr. Miroslav Demajo

19th of November 2020.

Belgrade

Serbia

Source: Birds in the nature