A large number of recorded taxa, and especially the discovery of species new to science as well as species new to the territory of the Republic of Serbia, suggest to us that the Ribnica river gorge represents a kind of refugial space of great importance for the preservation of the overall biodiversity of Serbia. At the end of 2023, we submitted an initiative to the Institute for Nature Protection of Serbia to consider our report and proposal for the expansion of the Ribnica Nature Monument, and perhaps to revise the level of protection of this exceptional natural asset! Research has continued in the following period and it is expected that the number of species that will be found will be even higher.
Picture of the area of the protected natural property Ribnica Nature Monument (orange line) in relation to the proposed boundaries of the extension of the protected area (yellow line).
The research showed that it is necessary to expand the current boundaries of the protected natural property to the entire Ribnica gorge, from the Salitrena cave to the Ribnica monastery in the village of Paštrić, including all the existing speleological objects, as well as the site of the Kumova cesma with Ambarina, slightly distant from the river near the Ribnica monastery. The research was carried out as part of the project “Citizens for SDG 15.1” financed as part of the 1st IMPETUS’ acceleration program (EU Horizon project no. 101058677).
