On the upper reaches of Crni Timok, in the village of Mali Izvor in the municipality of Boljevac, in the immediate vicinity of the “Ponorska ćuprija” bridge, large amounts of sand and gravel were illegally mined during the winter, which led to the destruction of part of the river bed and shore, damaged the habitat of protected species, and altered the course of the river, which caused catastrophic ecological consequences.
Citizens Association Polekol, immediately after learning about this crime against nature, submitted a criminal complaint to the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office (OJT) in Zaječar against the as yet unknown perpetrators, due to damage to the environment and exploitation of river sediments. The application was submitted based on the knowledge of Zlatko Trailović from Boljevac, who discovered the devastation during a visit to this part of Crni Timok.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The green light is currently being sought for a new “legal” extraction of river silt, which would further devastate Crni Timok. The company PLASTOMET doo from Knjaževac has submitted a request to the Ministry of Environmental Protection for a decision on the need to prepare an Environmental Impact Assessment Study for the extraction of river sediment from Crni Timok. Polekol has already submitted its opinion and we invite all citizens to submit their opinion inspired by ours and thus help the institutional struggle for the preservation of Black Timok.
Note: It is not necessary for the opinions to be expert, the local community or connoisseurs of the natural and social value of Black Timok have every right to be involved in this process with their position and opinion.
In addition, petitions were submitted to the Water Inspection and the Environmental Protection Inspection, in order to act within their competences. Considering that the exploitation was carried out on public plots owned by the Republic of Serbia, the State Attorney’s Office was also informed. OJT in Zaječar created a case and submitted a request to the Police for the collection of evidence and information.
“Crni Timok and its tributaries are the habitat of native brown trout. These waters are also home to other protected species of fish, such as bream, bream, Danube bream, bream, and golden bream ,” said Zlatko Trailović and warned: “This barbaric mining of sand and gravel has destroyed a unique ecosystem, and the consequences are even more severe because it is not possible to simply compensate for the lost fish stock by stocking it. Not to mention that the brook trout and its the habitat is protected by the law, and this is just proof of how effective its implementation is.”
The nature of eastern Serbia, with its waters rich in native species of fish, represents one of the priceless natural assets of our country. The cleanest rivers, protected species and unique ecosystems must not be left at the mercy of mere extractivism.
“Due to large-scale damage to the environment and the destruction of coastal vegetation, Polekol has submitted a request to the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Institute for Nature Protection of Serbia to urgently take remedial measures and prevent further degradation,” said Strahinja Macić, a lawyer for Polekol and the Right to Water initiative.
“The measures we have proposed include the introduction of hunting grounds for at least two years in this part of Crni Timok, as well as the establishment of new protected habitats, the Radovanska Reka, Rečka and Lukovsko Vrela, which are already recognized as important fish hatcheries ,” explains Macić.
Polekol and the Right to Water initiative call on citizens to report any form of destruction of nature to inspections, the police and prosecutors’ offices, so that we can jointly contribute to the protection of our waters and the prevention of crimes against nature. Also, they expect urgent and decisive action from the competent authorities in discovering and punishing those responsible.