The paper discusses the definitions of natural disasters and recommends the implementation of definitions and classifications of natural disasters in accordance with those decreed at the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) and Munich Re insurance Company (Munich RE) for administrative use in the Republic of Serbia. For the Republic of Serbia, the issue of natural disasters is presented both through government documents (e.g. the Law on Emergencies and the National Strategy of the Protection and Rescue in Emergencies) and the survey of the frequency and typology of disasters. Significant discrepancies exist between older and more contemporary classifications of disasters in Serbia. They are especially emphasized in comparison to the CRED and Munich RE classifications and databases. This causes problems in the monitoring, recording and assessment of the effects of natural disasters. It is proposed that definitions be adapted and implemented into legislative and other documents.

Several indices, with focus on extreme climate and bioclimate events have been calculated and their trends (over 1961 to 2014) analyzed in order to identify possible changes in temperature-related climate extremes over Vojvodina region, Northern Serbia. Physiologically equivalent temperature (PET) has been used for the assessment of bioclimatological extremes in Vojvodina. A number of indices for temperature extremes have been defined by CLIVAR (Climate Variability and Predictability) and they are modified in order to detect extremes in bioclimatological variables (PET). In this study, we used 11 PET indices. The results indicate that the whole area is dominated by significant increase in the frequency of warm conditions and significant decrease in the cold conditions. These results could indicate that the warming in Vojvodina could be due to the more pronounced and higher frequency of warm bioclimatological extreme conditions. The frequency and the duration of heat waves are increasing for the whole area, while the decrease in number and duration of cold waves is not so pronounced.

Festivals and special events play a significant role in communities' lives because they provide important activities and spending outlets for both locals and visitors, and enhance the tourist image of local communities and their social cohesion. Backgrounds and contents of events are various, but the most attractive ones are those devoted to gastronomy or those that cherish tradition, customs, folklore and handicrafts. The municipalities of Sombor and Apatin are multiethnic regions with authentic folklore and food out of which numerous events of economic and entertainment content emerged. The authors of this study recognized the most significant ten. The research is aimed at determining the attitudes of the local population with regard to the organization, realization and economic importance of cultural events.

ABSTRACT:The development of tourism in protected areas is a particular challenge for the tourism business and the activity of nature conservation. The leading criteria for sustainable tourism in protected areas emphasize the importance of the adoption of certain principles of care, long-term planning and management that integrates nature protection and tourism. In this respect, the paper analyzes their importance in the case of Special Nature Reserve »Gornje Podunavlje« in Vojvodina. After acquiring the status of a special nature reserve, talk about the importance of this area to the tourism of Sombor and Apatin, where it is located, has increased. This trend follows the design of educational and tourist tracks, starting and running events as well as starting tourism businesses in rural households. There could be multiple benefits of this for the local communities.

A recent forest fire in the Republic of Serbia is discussed concerning classification, legislative framework and fire management, giving a detailed analysis of the forest fire occurrence. Analysing past and predicting future fires are crucial for policy development and forest management practices to prevent and mitigate fires. Fire hazard is discussed through several fire protection and prevention legislative documents. The nonparametric Mann-Kendall test was used to analyse resent forest fire data in an attempt to find causality in occurrences and frequency. The meteorological data and fire statistics provided by the Serbian Hydro-meteorological Service and the Ministry of Interior/Sector for Emergency Management of the Republic of Serbia were used to calculate the Forest Fire Weather Indices, along with deficit or surplus of precipitation for the case study of Tara Mountain. The paper highlights the need for better hierarchical classification of fire hazards and its harmonisation along with standardisations presented by leading international research institutions. A significant correlation between meteorological parameters and forest fire occurrence was found. This opens a possibility for further investigation and analysis of geophysical and anthropogenic driven factors that can influence disaster occurrence.