Nature conservation in Belgrade from 1948 to the present

Abstract

City parks, public green areas, tree lines and other areas with conserved vegetation are invaluable for the inhabitants of urban areas. For that reason, it is necessary to conserve all these areas as much as possible, primarily by establishing a system of green areas of the city. The ultimate goal is to improve the planned system of green areas into "green infrastructure", by integrating with other areas close to nature. Particularly valuable elements of the city's green infrastructure system are protected areas that meet additional criteria evaluated in the process of acquiring the protection status. The first legal protection of natural areas on the territory of Belgrade was implemented in 1949, when the protection included 41 trees as a rare specimen of a plant and a rare specimen of an allochthonous species. Over time, the protection has expanded both towards the protection of individual natural rarities and towards the protection of the areas. This paper presents the protection of nature and natural values in the city of Belgrade from the very beginning until today, with the aim of informing the general public about protection in this area over time, but also about opportunities for establishing new protected areas, since harmonizing the need to conserve biodiversity and generally natural values on the one hand, and ensuring social prosperity on the other, nowadays represents a special challenge and goal to be pursued.