The year 2020 passed. It was not the first one that was long and heavy. I believe that each of us remembers both worse and better years. However, our nature is hopeful, so we expect from the next year to give us a little respite and strength since the pandemic has changed our lives, if not completely, then it has certainly changed the normal course of life.
However, I would say that in our country, environmental protection has not been forgotten. On the contrary, it has come to the fore. Topics such as air pollution, small hydropower plants, the jadarite mine and others were also in the media focus.
Given that our 20th issue is in front of you, you already know that the conversation with the ambassador is an indispensable column in every issue. Ambassador Raúl Bartolomé Molina spoke about environmental protection in Spain. He outlined to us the plans of the Spanish government to mitigate climate change and create the framework for sustainable growth that will enable the national economy to reach climate neutrality by 2050.
One of the main focuses in the coming period in the Ministry of Mining is certainly the Law on Renewable Energy Sources. We talked about the development of the use of renewable energy sources with State Secretary of the Green Energy Sector, Jovanka Atanacković.
We would like to draw your attention to the section Opinion in which Professor Vigor Majić, director of the research station Petnica, sheds light on the topic of smart cities in a different way.
We also recommend stories about engaging and young people and their inventions about which we regularly write in section People and Challenges. Nevena Čule explained to us how floating islands could be used to revitalize lakes and rivers as a powerful natural solution and Nikola Rakić from the company Natura Eco revealed to us where the first domestic “printed” house will spring up. Another Nikola, this time from the company White Lemur, talks about a new material that could replace the notorious and ubiquitous Styrofoam and reduce packaging waste.
Finally, one of the great successes of our editorial office this year is the photo competition “Natura 2000 in frame”, which we organized in cooperation with the Delegation of the European Union in Serbia through the project “EU for Natura 2000 in Serbia”. We received more than 1,500 great photos that reminded us of the beautiful landscapes, flora and fauna that characterize our country. They are also a kind of warning to us that in the coming years, we need to take more care of nature so that our heirs could enjoy the beauties that can be seen in these photos.
