Two Serbian environmental and transparency groups warned on September 2 that amendments to the country's planning law could allow forest land damaged or destroyed by fire to be converted for construction, raising concerns over the fate of areas hit by this summer's wildfires.

Transparency Serbia and the Renewables and Environmental Regulatory Institute (RERI) said amendments adopted by parliament on August 31 allow forest land affected by fire to be repurposed for projects deemed to be in the public interest or for public infrastructure.

The groups said the provisions were not included in the government's original draft submitted to parliament on August 7 and were added through an amendment proposed by a parliamentary committee on August 26. They also criticised the absence of a public hearing.

Under the amended law, forest land where trees have been damaged or destroyed by fire retains the designation it had before the fire. However, an exception allows its use to be changed if required for a project for which a public interest has been established or for public infrastructure.

The organisations said the provision could facilitate the conversion of burned forest land into construction land and questioned why such changes were introduced during a period of severe wildfires.

The issue is sensitive after fires swept across Serbia in August, including more than 3,500 hectares of the Deliblato Sands Special Nature Reserve in northern Serbia. Copernicus data showed wildfires had affected about 13,920 hectares across Serbia by August 26.

The government's handling of the fires had already become a political issue. Opposition groups accused the authorities of responding too slowly and initially underestimating the scale of the fires. Some opposition figures also alleged during the fires that the government could seek to use burned land for construction, but provided no evidence for the claim.

The government rejected those allegations as unfounded. Environmental Protection Minister Sara Pavkov and Energy Minister Dubravka Đedović Handanović also denied claims that the fires could be used to meet the needs of potential investors.

Transparency Serbia and RERI said the latest amendments had increased rather than reduced concerns over the future of fire-damaged land.

They called on the construction ministry and lawmakers to explain why the provisions were introduced and to clarify the procedure that would apply if forest land were to be converted following a fire.