Zasavica to double surfaces within protected area – Spatial changes to enable 100 new explorations of special reservation

More than a thousand types of mushrooms, tall plants, zooplankton, invertebrates, fish, birds and mammals in the Special Reservation Zasavica might soon be provided with even better protection. Furthermore, Zasavica will double the surface within the protected area, thereby enabling the realization of 100 new explorations of this area.

These are only some of the amendments envisaged by the new draft decree on establishment and study of protection of Special Reservation Zasavica, which was put up for public review until September 12 by the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

The international importance of Zasavica consists in 95 registered new species of flora and fauna and rare species that can be seen here exclusively – the Umbra krameri fish, Aldrovanda plants...

Zasavica is located in southern Vojvodina and northern Macva, east of the Drina and south of the Sava, in the territories of the municipalities of Sremska Mitrovica and Bogatic, cadaster municipalities of Macvanska Mitrovica, Salas Nocajski, Nocaj, Zasavica, Radenkovic, Ravnje, Banovo Polje and Crna Bara. The reservation consists of water surfaces of canals Jovaca and Prekopac, the channeled and natural flow of the tributary Batar and the river Zasavica itself, with its channeled and natural flow in the total length of 33.1 km.

Due to the presence of protected species of national and international importance and habitat types prioritized for protection, the Special Reservation Zasavica is an identified area within the international environmental network Emerald, an Important Plant Area (IPA), an internationally and nationally important bird area, a chosen area for day butterflies and a Ramsar area.

Greater degree of protection

The said draft decree envisages the expansion of Zasavica from 670.99 to 1,128.55 hectares, that is, an enlargement by 457.56 hectares, an increase by 68.2%, whereas the protected areas will increase from 1,150 to 3,462.65 hectares.

More specifically, the protected area allows for a formation of a construction area and all human activities, except for polluting activities such as the use of pesticides or herbicides, are allowed. The area provides the lowest level of protection, whereas the control is much more strict in the areas subject to higher levels of control within the reservation. Zasavica should thereby get the highest level of protection now, level I, which forbids any kind of impact on the flora and the fauna. Level II, currently the highest protection level, allows minimal instances of individual impact (nature maintenance, installing piers for management purposes etc), and level III allows for certain types of tightly controlled construction.

– Now, for the first time, the protection regime of the first degree has been determined for the most valuable locations, encompassing 59.85 hectares, that is, 5.30% of the total area of the reservation. The least amount of changes will be carried out within the second degree regime, which has been increased from 670.99 to 686.26 hectares, taking up 60.81% of the reservation's area. The third degree regime of protection has been established for the purpose of preserving important forest habitats along the Zasavica, encompassing an area of 382.44 hectares (33.89%) – the SRZ explains for eKapija.

The measures of protection have been defined to the end of preserving the remaining natural and semi-natural habitats, important for the preservation of geological, biological and area diversity. Another new feature is the fact that Zasavica will now be an ecological corridor connecting isolated natural habitats and enabling seasonal migrations and exchange of genetic material between partially isolated or remote habitats.

Looking by the purpose, the extended protected area is dominated by pastures (30.84%), forests (29.39%) and farmland (11.91%), whereas the wetlands, the river and the canals make up 25.08% of the reservation's area.

– The natural habitats within the borders of Zasavica are merely remains of former spacious water, wetland and forest areas of the region, the fragmentation of which began with the development of settlements and which sped up with water regulation. The natural areas survived in the form of isolated islands, and their connecting by ecological corridors should enable the preservation of the dynamics of the population and living communities. All the recent exploration in the reservation point to the possibility of using space and certain components in a way that leads to the realization of economic gain, while preserving the basic natural values of the reservation at the same time – the SRZ adds.

As Slobodan Simic, manager of the SRZ, says for eKapija, these changes will enable the realization of 100 new explorations.

– This is a lost river about which even the local populace doesn't know where it begins and where it ends – Simic says.

He heads the Nature Conservation Movement Sremska Mitrovica, which was the first one to suggest to the Institute for Nature Conservation of Serbia to explore the area. The state protected the reservation in 1997, exactly 20 years ago, and put the NCMSM in charge of it. According to the new decree, the Movement will continue taking care of it.

Simic explains that privately owned areas have now been included in the reservation, but the said changes will not have a considerable impact on the owners.

Tourism as main source of revenues

The NCMSM employs 14 people, of which 4 state-paid guards. Other employees' salaries are paid from the Movement's own funds, earned from tourism. Simic says that they get around 40% of the funds from the state and the local self-administration, whereas the rest is earned by themselves, which they will continue to do.

– Zasavica is a good example of a type of sustainable tourism and hospitality. There's a camp where 99% of the people are foreigners. They take tours of the reservation by foot, by boat, by ship, and there are 2,500 to 3,000 overnight stays annually – Simic says.

As he explains, the guests here eat only local food made in the reservation itself, primarily meat products. Old animal breeds are raised here, and the food is organic. In addition to Mangalitsa, they raise around 40 head of Podolian cattle, 200 milk-producing donkeys and 80 Bosnian mountain horses.

Zasavica has become famous in the country and abroad for its donkey milk products, from fresh milk to facial creams, liqueurs, soaps, to a unique product in the world – cheese made from donkey milk. It's interesting that the milk is very similar to human milk and features very little milk fat. It takes 25 liters of donkey milk to make a kilogram of cheese. It costs EUR 40 per liter, which brings the price of cheese up to EUR 1,000. Since donkey mares bear their young for a longer period of time than any other domesticated animal, a year and 15 days, the lactation period is 2 years. In that time, an average of only 35 to 40 liters of milk is produced, making it very valuable.

It is foreigners who buy these products the most, as they find Zasavica attractive throughout the year. The products can be bought on the location or online, through their website, exclusively, because, as Simic says, there have been many attempts to copy the products and they have therefore had to protect them this way.

The public discussion about the said document, during which the suggestions submitted during the public review will be considered, will be held on Friday, September 15, 2017, at 12 o'clock, at the premises of the Municipal Assembly of Sremska Mitrovica.

Rezervat Zasavica

Zavod za zaštitu prirode Srbije

Grad Sremska Mitrovica

Opština Bogatić

Pokret gorana Sremske Mitrovice Rezervat prirode Zasavica

Ministarstvo zaštite životne sredine Republike Srbije

Emerald

draft decree on establishment and study of protection of Special Reservation Zasavica

Macva

Drina

Sava

Macvanska Mitrovica

Salas Nocajski

Nocaj

Zasavica

Radenkovic

Ravnje

Banovo Polje

Crna Bara

butterflies

birds

Ramsar area

Jovaca canal

Prokupac canal

Batar

Zasavica river

Zasavica ecological corridor

pastures

forests

farmland

wetlands

Mangalitsa

lactating donkey mares

donkeys

cattle

Bosnian mountain horses

horses

horse

donkey cheese

production of donkey cheese

facial cream made from donkey cheese

soap made from donkey cheese

production of facial cream made from donkey cheese

production of soap made from donkey cheese

Zasavica camp

Umbra krameri fish

Aldrovanda plant

natural preservation

protection of the flora

protection of the fauna

Slovodan Simic

construction at Special Reservation Zasavica