Mila Pavlovic

Traditional use of the native medicinal plant resource of Mt. Rtanj (Eastern Serbia): ethnobotanical evaluation and comparison.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE This study reports on the uses of medicinal plants and ethnobotanical significance of Mt. Rtanj, Eastern Serbia. The aim of the study was collecting information on plant utilization and creating the list of medicinal plants collected by local community in the region of Rtanj Mt. in Serbia. METHODOLOGY A group of generally elderly people from the region were interviewed, asked to identify a certain number of plant taxa used against various human ailments. A quantitative ethnobotanical comparison has been performed in relation to other studies concerning the central Balkan Peninsula. RESULTS There is an inventory of 45 plant species recorded. At the family level, the most common in traditional usage were species of Labiatae (22%), Rosaceae (20%) and Compositae (13%). The results of the survey suggested that Hypericum perforatum was the most popular medicinal plant. Among the 7 different recorded types of preparation, the aerial parts of plants were the most popular (47.3%). The most frequently reported medicinal uses of herbal drugs include remedies for immune system (22.97%), respiratory system (15.77%) and digestive system disorders (15.32%). However, a comparatively small number of available plant species was used for medicinal purposes while the level of ethnobotanical diversity was lower when compared to adjacent regions. CONCLUSIONS Ethnobotanical knowledge in this area is decreasing due to high emigration rates during the last period. The historically developed ethnobotanical heritage should be preserved and promoted on the larger level, getting the special position in the future management plans for this area.

Changes in the Household Structure during the Period 1961–2011 in Serbia: Example of Sokobanja Municipality

Serbia and the entire Southeastern Europe was affected by considerable demographic, political, and socioeconomic changes in the second half of the twentieth century. The changes in the population were shown as an insufficient birthrate as well as an intense emigration. Apart from these, certain drastic changes in the household structure occurred. This article examines the total changes in the household number on the territory of the Republic of Serbia, with the municipality of Sokobanja as a prominent example. Other aims of the research are the analysis of the household composition and economic characteristics of the households.

Population Aging in Serbia A Case Study of the Municipality of Bela Palanka

This article focuses on the problem of population aging in the municipality of Bela Palanka typical for the most prominent demographic problems in the territory of the Republic of Serbia and characteristically marked by an unfavorable age structure. The authors tried to determine both spatial and temporal dimensions of the population aging process of the aforementioned municipality.

Tourism potentials of the Raška region and development of rural tourism.

In order to find solutions for stopping negative economic processes in the Raska region, as well as land reclamation and depopulation of villages, one of the main activities is adequate restructuration of the economy, according to available resources. In this paper we analyze a place of tourism in the Raska region, as an activity to which is not given appropriate developmental role in the previous development policies, as opposed to diverse and attractive natural and anthropogenic values. In the paper we identify the most significant tourism potentials of the Raska region and their evaluation score. Special attention is given to rural tourism as one of the activities that can have a greater role in future plans for demographic and economic revitalization of this area. We analyze the current state of rural tourism in the Raska region, and indicate main limiting factors that prevent rapid development of this, in many ways, primary form of tourism.