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Topical - Geoheritage
movable natural legacy, including important
geological collections.
Geoheritage register
Five major geostructural units are distinguished
in Serbia (Fig. 2). The Carpathian-
Balkanides of eastern Serbia represent the
northern Alpine branch formed under
highly varied geological conditions. The
Serbian-Macedonian Massif is the crystalline
core area between the Carpathian-
Balkanides and the Dinarides. The Vardar
Zone, a remnant of the ancient Vardar
Ocean, is located among the Serbian-
Macedonian Massif, Dinarides and Pannonian
Basin, respectively. The Dinarides
is a part of the Alpine orogenic system,
formed by closure of the ancient Tethyan
oceanic realm. The Pannonian Basin represents
a back arc extensional basin, situated
in the north of country. Due to the
complex geological evolution and history of
the territory of Serbia, many geologists are
involved in systematic and detailed surveys
and research (Petković, 1935; Andjelković
& Nikolić, 1980; Grubić 1980; Dimitrijević,
1995; Ćirić, 1996).
Serbia is a good example of a country rich
in geological diversity and with a long geological
tradition but still with an inadequate
geodiversity conservation status in terms of
regulation and practice. Prior to 1995, only
78 geological sites were protected (Fig. 3).
Of that number, 14 localities were named
as particular natural monuments and their
protection was managed inside protected
areas (e.g. national parks, natural parks or
nature reserves). The other 64 sites were
assigned as single monuments or landscapes
with special attributes, including geological
(12), geomorphological (14), hydrological
and hydrogeological (12), and speleological
sites (26).
In 1995, Serbia joined the ProGEO at its
first regional meeting “Conservation of the
geological heritage in SE Europe” organized
in Bulgaria.
Category No. of sites Subcategories No. of sites
Geological and stratigraphic
heritage sites
130
Paleozoic
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Neogene
22
4
18
39
47
Petrological heritage sites 53
Sedimentary rocks
13
Magmatic and metamorphic
40
rocks
Structural heritage sites 5
Geophysical heritage sites 8
Hydrogeological heritage
19
sites
Pedological geoheritage
4
sites
Archeological heritage sites 14
Geomorphological sites 192
Karstic
Fluvial
Erosional
Aeolian
Paleovolcanic
Glacial
Periglacial
Peat moor
56
48
11
9
11
21
6
30
Speleological heritage sites 80
Caves
Holes
Sinkholes
56
10
14
Neotectonic landforms 34 Epeirogeny forms
Faults
15
19
Sites with specific climatic
features
13
Air temperatures
Precipitation
Atmospheric pressure
Wind
7
4
1
1
Table 1: Inventory of the geological heritage sites of Serbia (from Archives of the Serbian National
Council for Geoheritage Conservation, compiled by A. Maran).
A milestone in the history of geological
heritage in Serbia was the First Conference
of Geoheritage of Serbia held in Novi Sad in
1995, where the Serbian National Council
for Geoheritage Conservation was founded.
In 1996, the Council initiated the project
“Inventory of the geoheritage sites of
Serbia”, which aimed to collect proposals
for geosites that mark important events in
the geological history of Serbian territory.
This project was voluntary-based and many
eminent geoscientists actively participated
in its implementation.
The work on the inventory was undertaken
between 1996 and 2003 and in 2004 a
preliminary list was created. It includes 552
geosites proposed for conservation (Table
1). The sites are classified into eleven categories
according to criteria of the ProGEO
Framework List of geoheritage (Mijović,
2005). The geoheritage register of Serbia
was published in 2005 within a special journal
dedicated to the Second Conference
of Geoheritage of Serbia, held in Belgrade
in 2004.
In Serbia, as well as in some other southeastern
European countries, a comprehensive
National geoconservation strategy has
still not been established despite many
warnings from specialists. Prior to a definition
of the strategy, however, substantial
research needs to be done in selecting preliminary
important geodiversity sites, valu-
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