Uvac – a nexus of paradoxes: Neglect and corruption destroying the jewels of nature
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The stunning beauty of serpentine meanders of the Uvac River in western Serbia, between the Zlatar and Javor mountains, has gained worldwide acclaim. More and more tourists flock to spend their vacations in this enchanting region, drawn not only by the breathtaking landscape but also by the opportunity to closely observe the Griffon vulture. The more frequent visitor, however, delving deeper into the predicaments of the Uvac Special Nature Reserve, a Category I protected area, will discover that this place is a nexus of paradoxes.
If we, for instance, begin with these “kings of the sky” - the griffon vultures whose wingspan of nearly three meters makes it possible for them to soar up to three kilometers using air currents – we learn that their existence, too, depends on contradictory human behaviour. These nature’s cleaning crew were for decades the collateral victims of wildlife poisoning, innocently feeding on contaminated carcasses. Daily mining operations that paved the way to two new hydropower plants, Bistrica and Kokin Brod, disturbed the vulture population as well. The “royal colony”, already on the brink of extinction, was protected only a decade later, in 1971, when this area, covering 267 hectares, was officially declared a special nature reserve, the Uvac Gorge.
The hunger for electricity grew, however, and the construction of the Rastoke dam began, redirecting the Uvac flow towards the new Uvac-Sjenica reservoir. The Uvac hydropower plant was opened in 1979, and the vultures continued to abandon the area. The electrification campaign did revive the surrounding areas, Sjenica and Nova Varoš in particular, transforming them into veritable towns. Yet, with the building of the dam, many households, along with cultural and historical monuments, were lost beneath the waters. Sunk under the surface of the reservoir is a section of the old caravan road from Sarajevo to Istanbul, as well as a three-arched stone bridge from the 16th century, built skillfully by an Ottoman master. But progress was a necessity, and there’s always a price tag on it.
Industrialisation shattered the tradition of livestock farming on the Pešter plateau, rising above the Uvac River, and, consequently, the griffon vultures, feeding on cattle carcasses, were left without food. On the initiative of Saša Marinković, an ornithologist working for the Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković,” a small road was opened near the Gujanica Mala bend, in the village of Akmačići. Thus the place where locals used to dispose of dead livestock, fearing inspection, became an officially designated feeding ground for the vultures. After that, all their habitats in Serbia were protected, and the Uvac Special Reserve was expanded in 1995 to cover 2,717 hectares, encompassing the entire local colony.
Shortly after, however, the people began to complain, feeling that greater care was provided for the bird, than for them. It was very difficult for Marinković to educate the locals, and explain how important the presence of the griffon vulture was. And now, when they finally came to terms with the fact that the vultures were not only extremely valuable, but also harmless, as they don’t kill their prey, there’s another type of danger threatening the species – excessive human curiosity.
Curiosity has exceeded all bounds when flying helicopters over the nests of white-headed eagles suddenly became all the rage. Although this was prohibited by the Civil Aviation Directorate in 2020, those responsible for the eagle chicks falling into the water were never identified. Not even the footage of this “feat” by Željko Mitrović, the owner of Pink TV, was reason enough for the Serbian judiciary to launch an investigation.
Equally fashionable became drones and quad bikes, also banned from the Reserve. “Fortunately, there are fewer quad bikes now, but it has nothing to do with the protection measures in effect for the area, covering nearly 14,000 hectares since last spring. It’s rather that the renters decided the quads were not profitable enough due to frequent malfunctions,” explains Stevo Radovanović, one of the nine Reserve rangers.
The rangers, handling a wide array of tasks, are often in the crosshairs of locals and weekenders alike. The locals expect from them the care that the state and local self-government withhold. Holiday home owners are angry when their illegal constructions, whole settlements even, are reported to the authorities. Those are usually prefabricated homes, which under the 2015 Legalisation Act, do not require building permits.
Accordingly, makeshift settlements are mushrooming along the three lakes – Uvačko/Sjeničko, Zlatarsko, and Radojinsko – rallied around permanently parked camper trailers, to which awnings, concrete steps to the water, outdoor kitchens, and makeshift toilets are added, creating not only an ugly landscape, but also a visible breach of legal and ecological prerogatives. When the rangers caution the owners that what they were doing was a criminal offense, they usually raise a fuss, proclaiming themselves “the nature lovers who care about their surroundings more deeply than everyone else.”
This description of wildlife enthusiasts does not involve the image of a conscientious dog owner though. In summer, they like to feed stray dogs, but in winter, abandoned by the temporary benefactors, the dogs dig through garbage, scavenge dumpsters for leftovers or attack sheep. When they kill a sheep or two, blame is shifted to wolves, resulting in organised, sometimes illegal, hunts. Jackals are treated similarly, but the bear wisely skips the fuss altogether, and only occasionally, driven by hunger, ventures to the vulture feeding grounds.
Hunting associations, such as “Kozomor” in Nova Varoš, managing the Zlatar hunting ground, strive to stop poaching, fully aware of the importance of every link in the food chain, abandoned dogs included. It is difficult to strike a balance due as the growing number of weekend settlements has increased traffic considerably, says Darko Živković, a wildlife ranger at “Kozomor”.
These settlements do not always include prefab homes - wealthier owners have built luxury villas and multi-story buildings in the area. The Serbian legislation has allowed them to legalise structures in the protection zones I and II, as long as they register the buildings as “family vacation homes,” even if they are used as rentals, multiplying the pressure on nature. For the privileged users of what is usually state-owned land, socialising with inspectors, ready to turn a blind eye until the legalisation process is completed, is often very helpful.
It appears that the lakes themselves are taking their revenge, receding visibly down the steep shores and leaving the giant “bathtub rings” behind. These traces of the falling water level are mainly the result of excessive electricity production relying on the reservoir capacity, which is what Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS) power utility does to avoid importing electrical energy and save coal. Accidents, similar to the one at the Obrenovac Thermal Power Plant in 2021, when Zlatar and Uvac lakes resembled large marshes, leaving rafts stranded, also occur. This, however, is just the tip of the iceberg.
The reduction of water volume in the Uvac Reserve has accelerated the negative impact of liquid waste, including wastewater from holiday homes and households, waste materials from small industrial facilities and illegal dumps, as well as gasoline from boat engines (which should be replaced with electric ones). These impurities make the purification of lake water for drinking purposes more difficult, especially for the town of Priboj. Almost 50 percent of water supply for Priboj comes from the lowest Uvac reservoir, Radoinje, at the receiving end of contamination from the Zlatarsko and Uvačko/Sjenčko lakes.
“Compliance with regulations defining the ‘guaranteed ecological flow’ downstream from the dams is controlled by the water management inspection, whose efficiency is limited by insufficient personnel and no less by political authorities,” says Zoran Stevanović, a retired hydrogeology professor from the Faculty of Mining and Geology in Belgrade.
Other living organisms in the reservoir are endangered more directly, the Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković” concluded in last year’s monitoring survey, conducted at the request of the Uvac Special Nature Reserve. “Based on a comprehensive analysis and a detailed examination of the population of macro-invertebrates, silicate algae (phytobenthos) and phytoplankton, as well as other data (physical and chemical parameters, chlorophyll concentrations and other field observations) the indicative ecological status or potential of the water bodies in the Uvac Reserve is found to be generally moderate to weak,” the Institute concluded in its closing remarks.
The examination results revealed that water in certain parts of the river basin had been classified as Category III, Category IV or even Category V, posing a significant risk to overall biodiversity under the formal protection of the state. The “generally moderate to weak” quality of the lake waters might be ascribed to climate change in part, but there is also poorly planned and increasingly intensive deforestation for the purposes of the timber industry. Unplanned deforestation causes erosion and, consequently, landslides.
The culprits for the early stages of the ecological disaster are known but not named, except for the state-owned company Srbijašume. The wildlife ranger Živković castigates the public enterprise, blaming it for decimating healthy trees, while leaving those affected by invasive bark beetles. The “anonymity” of other culprits – dairies, sawmills, slaughterhouses, and meat processing plants abundant in the region – is only natural as their environmental offenses have gone unpunished.
As for the dairy plants, they were instructed by the government to install wastewater treatment systems in their facilities at the beginning of the EU accession process, according to Marko Ćirović, from Akmačići. As the political process stalled, the dairies either ignored the orders, or obeyed them once over lightly.
Proof of this is the pollution of the Bjelanac spring in the village, known for cattle breeding. After detecting increased concentrations of heavy metals, especially mercury, Bjelanac was sealed off, and the alternative source of the potable water supply became the Đendić spring, under-capacitated and with a punctured pipeline, overloaded by illegal connections.
As a result, the villagers store water in sizeable makeshift containers, angry at the Reserve rangers for not supplying them with this essential commodity, and at the officials for never disclosing the names of those responsible for contaminating the primary spring. The truth is revealed by the citizen association “Studenac”, with only a few members. Understaffed as it is, the association of citizens cannot possibly address all the mistakes in their Nova Varoš municipality.
In the nearby municipality of Sjenica, where a part of the Uvac Lake is located (hence its dual name), there is no organised resistance to political negligence and arrogance. And it is precisely Sjenica's slaughterhouses that are wracking havoc by releasing waste into watercourses, with the Stavalj coal mine sealing their fate with its tailings. Sjenica doesn’t even have a complete sewerage network, and septic tanks are mostly non-sealed, with no waste treatment facilities complying with regulations.
The excessive use of pesticides and artificial fertilisers by farmers, trying to enhance crop yields and profits this way, also affects the water quality of the reservoir. Only the local sawmills have escaped criticism so far, as they compress the polluting sawdust they produce into lucrative briquettes.
Whenever the harmful effects of human activities on the environment are discussed, heavy emphasis is usually on penalties. They are insignificant though, when compared to the financial gain of irresponsible businesses and individuals. For instance, illegal construction is penalised by a fine of up to 100,000 dinars and a suspended prison sentence, or the matter is resolved by a more opportune mechanism to defer criminal prosecution with even fewer consequences. Polluting companies can get away with even milder penalties compared to their income, if reported at all. There’s only a handful of inspectors, and it is somewhat understandable that they are reluctant to help NIN inform its readers.
The local authorities in Nova Varoš also remained silent about all their oversights and offenses, shifting the blame to the utility company “Vrelo,” with the latter blaming the former, too. Mayor of Sjenica Munim Mujagić, was slightly more cooperative, at least promising the construction of a sewage system and the closure of the Goveđak landfill, which will be discussed later.
The state does demonstrate the awareness of the severity of environmental crime, if evidence of a plan to change anything is the establishment of a special unit within the Ministry of the Interior last March. The responsibility of the new group of trained police officers is to combat illegal hunting, deforestation, and soil, water, and air pollution. The idea is that the police unit should work together with relevant prosecutor’s offices, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, citizens, central and provincial inspectorates as well as local self-government inspections, but the successes of the group are unknown at this point. What’s known is that the task-force chief, Živica Munćan, commended he authorities for “removing illegal dumpsites across Serbia.” Yet they keep proliferating in every corner of Serbia, and within the protected Uvac area as well.
Local creators of illegal dumpsites are extremely imaginative, utilising for their purposes karst holes, too. Old home appliances are added to the collection, too, including batteries and old TV sets that contain heavy metals. Since these dumpsites are very difficult to reach, Aleksandar Pegan, a member of the Academic Speleological-Alpinist Club, whom NIN had interviewed before in the same context, suggested to the Uvac Reserve management, speaking on behalf of the “Clean Underground – Clean Serbia” initiative, that his colleagues should clean the pits, as they are equipped with the skills and tools for such endeavors.
When the cleanup of the Uvac underground will begin remains uncertain, as the waste of diverse origins is piling up at the surface, unveiling yet another unregulated area.
And this brings us back to Goveđak. This unsanitary landfill on the outskirts of Sjenica, stretching along the main road from Sjenica to Nova Varoš, has been formally closed. However, no sanitation and reclamation have been carried out in the Goveđak area in line with the existing legislation. Only a fence has been erected to event dogs from scattering accumulated waste, including dead animals. Waste is now stored at the so-called regional landfill Banjica, near Nova Varoš. “Goveđak is only closed for further use, while its negative effects on the environment continue,” a geologist, Milovan Rakić, Ph.D. warns.
On the other hand, during the construction of the Banjica sanitary landfill, experts found that its capacity could not meet the waste disposal needs of four municipalities – Priboj, Prijepolje, Sjenica and Nova Varoš – and therefore cannot be considered a regional landfill. According to post festum assessment by experts, Banjica can only serve as a transfer station on the way to the regular regional sanitary landfill Duboko in Užice.
However, Duboko is also nearing expiry, at least when the left bank of the Turkish Stream is concerned, where the sanitary space for municipal waste disposal was indeed built in accordance with the existing technical and technological regulations. This problem will be solved by developing a project to convert the other bank of the Turkish Stream into additional sanitary space, Rakijaš says.
There is a solution for Goveđak as well, but it’s a very distant prospect. Alongside sanitation and reclamation, the processes prescribed by the law, this unsanitary landfill could be expanded and, following all legal measures, become a sanitary urban landfill catering for the needs of the city of Sjenica, Rakijaš says. This would solve many problems - relieve some of the pressure currently on the regional landfill Duboko and the Banjica transfer station, near Nova Varoš, among others.
Not everything depends on money though. Sometimes it takes just a better vision by those in charge. Why not consult proven experts when overcoming various obstacles, as they, too, live in Serbia, instead of only those susceptible to bribery?
Why not unite institutions, companies, and non-governmental organisations to work on solving contentious issues, from environmental pollution to establishing measures for economic sustainability? Instead of providing ecological education for police officers, why not employ more (requalified) inspectors who would do their job? Why not make life easier for the local population by granting them a privileged status in tenders for boat service on the Uvac Lake, and why not make boats electric, to fit the nature of reservoirs?
Why not abandon the idea of mad urbanization of the Mt. Zlatar in favour of sustainable tourism? Along the same lines, why not involve more locals, offering homemade, preferably organic, products to the increasing number of tourists?
Why not identify design flaws first, and then build? Why not hire credible local companies for the sanitation and reclamation of unsanitary landfills, rather than foreign businesses (Chinese), who don’t care about Serbia’s natural resources too much? Why not respect regulations, prescribe fines far greater than those provided by the law if that can secure a better future for us? The answer lies in corruption, for which there is no cure, as long as the system of values remains the same. And from the same body of social chaos and forced unanimity comes negligence, too.