Ministry of Science and Environmental Protection

Food waste is a pressing global problem with significant environmental, economic and social impacts. This review examines the state of food waste management in Serbia and contextualizes the challenges and opportunities in a global and EU framework. In the Republic of Serbia, an estimated 247,000 tons of food is wasted annually, indicating critical gaps in waste management infrastructure, consumer awareness and missing legislation. While existing policies address general waste management, there is a lack of targeted measures for food waste prevention and resource recovery. The overview recommends aligning Serbian policy with an EU legislative frame, introducing extended producer responsibility and promoting public–private cooperation to improve food donation and recycling. This is the first comprehensive study specifically addressing food waste management in Serbia and assessing its compliance with European and global best practices. By comparing Serbia’s current status with established international models, this paper identifies critical gaps and proposes actionable strategies to improve the efficiency and sustainability of the food waste management system in Serbia. These include investment in infrastructure, public awareness campaigns and the use of innovative digital tools to reduce waste and support a circular economy.

In this study we investigated genetic variability of the riffle beetle Elmis maugetii Latreille, 1802 (Coleoptera: Elmidae) in Europe and North Africa. The samples barcoded in the present study cover the following countries: the Netherlands, Croatia, Serbia, and Greece. The analysis also includes additional data from Austria, Germany, France, Spain, Slovakia, France, and North Africa (Morocco). mtDNA sequences of the newly barcoded E. maugetii specimens were compared to all sequences available for this species in the BOLD and NCBI GenBank databases. The present study also provides data on population genetic parameters of the species [haplotype diversity, nucleotide diversity, Theta (per site) from Eta, Tajima’s D value], minimum-spanning networks, phylogeographic structure, and possible corridors of its recolonization of the European continent in the Pleistocene. Genetic diversity of E. maugetii was found to be lower in northern regions of Europe. According to the proposed evolutionary history of E. maugetii, the colonization of northern latitudes most likely started from the Balkan Peninsula (suggested as the species´ main glacial refugium in Europe) and proceeded via Central, Northern, and Western Europe, finally reaching the Pyrenean Peninsula (Spain). The specimens from North Africa (Morocco) are slightly distinct from the European ones. To judge from data obtained on the genetic structure of populations of this riffle beetle species, it is characterized by shallow genetic structure within mitochondrial DNA in general.

The assessment of the suitability and status of irrigation water quality from the aspect of its potential negative impact on soil salinization and mapping of spatial distribution within the area of the three Morava rivers, which includes the South, West, and Great Morava basins, was the purpose of this research. A total of 215 samples of irrigation water were tested, and their quality was evaluated based on the analysis of the following parameters: pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved salt (TDS), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), and content of SO42−, Cl−, HCO3−, CO3 2−, Mg2+, Ca2+, Na+, and K+. The results showed that the average content of ions was as follows: Ca2+ > Mg2+ > Na+ > K+ and HCO3− > SO42− > Cl− > CO32−. The assessment of irrigation water suitability was determined by calculating the following indices: percentage sodium (Na %), residual sodium carbonate (RSC), permeability index (PI), magnesium hazard (MH), potential salinity (PS), Kelley’s index (KI), total hardness (TH), irrigation water quality index (IWQI). Based on Wilcox’s diagram, the USSL diagram, and the Doneen chart, it was concluded that most of the samples were suitable for irrigation. Using multivariate statistical techniques and correlation matrices in combination with other hydrogeochemical tools such as Piper’s, Chadha’s, and Gibbs diagrams, the main factors associated with hydrogeochemical variability were identified.

This paper reports on the size and completeness of tree crowns and their effectiveness for the production of wood volumes in the case of a pure 35-years European ash stand. Starting from the interaction between the elements of the crowns structure and elements of the tree and stand growth the economical use of growing space was perceived and the optimal stand state was also defined, what were the main objectives of this paper. The trees with slender crowns, despite their better ratio of the surface area/volume of the crown, produced lower wood volume (undeveloped crowns). On the other hand, when the produced stem volume was analyzed per unit growing space it was observed that the less space for tree growth the more effectively it was used for the production of wood volume. This indicated the existence of a certain optimum between the crowns and produced volume stands. The optimal stand state in terms of crown structure, the desired number of trees and stand volume was determined based on the relationship between the coefficient of the economy of growing space utilization and volume of trees and crown projection area.

The objective of this paper is the analysis of the feedback information from the Farm accountancy data network (FADN) in the Serbia. The objective of FADN is to ensure the compulsory annual reports to the European Commission, as well as for the analytics and development of a national agro-sector. The signifcance for the national agro-sector is primarily by providing feedback information to domestic farmers. Analyses in this paper were determined the need and possibility for inclusion in FADN feedback form indicators of gross margin for every production line, which can be calculated from already existing data. The importance of gross margin as an indicator of proftability is signifcant from the perspective of farmers.

Biogas represents a promising source for the production of clean energy. The objective of this paper was to quantify the potential for the reduction of emissions to the environment during the production of electricity from biogas in comparison with environmental effects of the production of the same amount of electricity from fossil resources (coal from Kolubara basin and natural gas). Basis for comparison of environmental impacts in this work was the annual production of electricity in biogas plants of the total capacity of 80 MW. This study has shown that the annual production of electricity from biogas power plants of 80 MW results in: substitution of up to 840 kt of coal from Kolubara basin and 123.2 million m3 of natural gas; reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases in the range of 491.16 kt - 604.97 kt CO2-eq, depending on the energy efficiency of the process of electricity production from biogas; reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases up to 92.37 kt CO2-eq compared to the use of natural gas for electricity generation.

Proper Healthcare Waste Management (HCWM) was introduced in the Republic of Serbia in 2007 with the support of the European Union. Since then, the amounts of waste treated, prior to landfill, have steadily increased and more and more healthcare institutions adopted HCWM systems. In parallel large numbers of healthcare workers were trained in proper HCWM. This study quantifies the progress made. The study analyzed the period 2009 to 2012 using three methods of data collection. On basis of data collected, it has been established that with a population of just over seven million, Serbia generates between 4,500 and 5,000 tones of infectious waste on an annual basis of which some 20% originates from the treatment of out-patients, 75% from the treatment of in-patients and 5% from micro-biological laboratory tests. While in 2009 only one third of this waste was treated prior to disposal, this fraction has increased to two thirds in 2011. The data also show that more than 90% of healthcare facilities have developed individual healthcare waste management plans up from less than 20% in 2009. In every healthcare facility there are at least 2 people trained in healthcare waste management, and in total there are approximately 3000 staff members who received formal HCWM training provided through the Institute for Public Health. Healthcare waste management is continuously improving in the Republic of Serbia and is well established in more than 85% of healthcare facilities. There are still issues to be improved especially regarding treatment on healthcare waste other than infectious waste.