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Ecology

Besides these things, the river meanders (approximately 30 km in length) together with its tributary river Zabava are very attractive. Besides attractive geomorphologic source of river erosion, the are also smaller environmental sections with highly specific and very valuable landscape characteristics. There are also numerous habitats of rare plant and animal species: otter, wildcat, gray partridge, spring trout, etc.
The gorge is rich in underground forms of karst erosion. Not mach larger and better known gorges in Serbia, have such a large number of caves. There are almost seventy of them and they are still being discovered.
Some of the larger caves have all the conditions required for public purposes, with would significantly contribute the tourist attractions of the site. This stands objects that were used before, like Paleolithic localities, refuges from the classical period and monk cell of the nearby monastery.

Geological quality of this area (only partially protected), caused the appearance of the steep slopes, cliffs, abysses, depressions witch enhance the beauty of area. It was recently noticed that several sessional karst springs appeared in the most attractive part of the gorge of the Gradac River.
Steep valley slopes are subject to high risks of erosion, and subsequently the area has to be protected by intense a forestation. It is enough to maintain the pastures and meadows on less steep slopes. These measures will ensure the stable overall water flow.
As far as the quality of water is concerned, the Gradac River is one of those rivers that are highly preserved and thus plays very important role in supplying the town Valjevo with drinking water.
The watercourse of the river is relatively strong and the capacity is stable.
The karst area in which gorge was cut, according to the examinations show that the river basin is much larger in its eastern and western branches. This cannot been seen on the surface.
The experiments with paint, in the high abyss on the mountains Povlen and Maljen exhibit that the paint appears simultaneously in the karst springs of Gradac and its eastern neighbor (Banja river) as well as western ones (i.e. Jablanica river). This proves that these water flows are connected in the underground.
This is why the surface of the river basin can be estimated only approximately from 12,000 to 15,000 hectares.
This makes the problems of protection of the hydro geological river basin much more complicated. Efficient protection of the river is possible only if coupled with protection of the neighboring river basins or the whole region of area of Valjevo Mountains. This particularly refers to the building of the weekend settlements, restaurants and other economic units in this area. Numerous legal and illegal landfills represent a very large problem: fifty of them are found on the banks of the Gradac river in year 2000. Those landfills are getting larger constantly, thanks to the negligence of the local people even though we are constantly trying to clean up the whole area. These efforts should be intensified, particularly in view of more efficient supervision.
There is also a few cases of capping springs along the Gradac river by individuals or groups of village households for providing sufficient drinking water supplies (even whole villages source drinking water from such sources), inevitably contributing to drying up the surface and underground river water resources that is largely underestimated.
All springs must be saved and the caped ones must be unsealed in the future. The only solutions, found in the ,,Troy action", is to build smaller dams in the high waterproof mountain zones. This is the only way for this area to preserve its artery - the Gradac River and the other rivers of the region.

Thanks to the geographical position of the gorge it has more sunny hours during the day, that other similar gorges. It is also well protected from the winds and that is the reason for absence of climatic extremes - large temperature differences between the day and night. All these factors make this area very suitable for recreation purposes.
The woods have an enormous significance in preserving the landscape and the environment, even though the quality of the woods is not very high. This problems can be solved in the course of the time and it falls into the trusted responsibility. Autochthonous forest are scarce in this region. Some planted coniferous woods that do not belong here are also present. According to this, the gradual planned replacing of the coniferous trees by the autochthons deciduous trees should be realized.
The area is well inhabited by the impressive number of animal species, meaning that the nature is well preserved. The existing knowledge on the types of habitats is sufficient in order to re-introduce the most endangered species that have almost disappeared - some birds for example. But this leads to restricting some activities, I.E. illegal construction, hunting, poaching and even human presence (e.g. feasts of May 1).
The tolerable construction in this area should serve the purpose of research, presentation of the gorge and its monumental values (sacral, ethnologic, technical or archaeological monuments and objects). But even this has to be done with delicate measures.

Local traditions, in terms of ethnologic values, which are very diverse and precious, are also being effected by the current circumstances. Today, there is a very little left of the famous water-mills on the Gradac river, Bukovska river, Zabava, but they can be restored contributing to the overall tourist resources.
However, the absence of planned documentation represents a large deficit in each serious undertaking, as this one is, so this handicap should be prevailed as soon as possible.
The first legal action concerning the protection of this area was ventured on December 13, 1958 by the Institute for Protection of Nature Rarities of RR. Serbia (today the Institute fore Nature Protection of republic of Serbia).
According to this document, one smaller section - the ,,Baca" cave with its bat colony was protected.
The next legal action was ventured in the year 1984 after the initiative of the experts from the Petnica Science Center.
it was focused on protection of the narrow part of the Gradac river gorge which covers the space of 877.6 hectares from Zabava and Bukovska river, to the veliko Brdo as a protected border area covering 196,8 hectares and then further downstream to the concrete dam in the village of Deguric - narrower zone of protection covering 680,8 hectares.
At the initiative of the local society for protection of Gradac, Ecological Society ,,Gradac" - the local authorities of Valjevo speeded the protected area to the mouth of Gradac river to the Kolubara river (including the urban zone along the watercourse). Besides, some things concerning the border-line of the protected costal were left imprecisely determined, bat it was the first time that the trustee of this region was designated - ecological society ,,Gradac" with the supervision of the Petnica Science Center.
Some time later, Valjevo local authorities enacted one additional legal document on protection of the two cultural monuments in this area. Those were the old hydro-electricity station Deguric (in 1991.) and the wider space around the already protected cultural monument - monastery Celije (in 1992.).
In the first case, the protected area covered 21,12 hectares and in the second case 45,93 hectares.
The most precious archaeological monument in this area is one until recently fully regarded as a real remained of the great fortress from the late classical period (6 century) - valva. It is located above the remnants of the Roman and medieval road in the gorge. This monumental has not been put under any kind of protection yet, even thought it is clear that the future archaeological research will give the results that will be represent one of the greatest scientific sensations and underline the greatest values of Valjevo and its surrounding.
Naturally, it is the trustee who is expected to act in this situation.
It took us at least six years of persistent train since the day the initiative started, from beginning's of the work on the proposal for protection of one part of the Gradac River, of the level of the republic institutions, to the final verification of that document at all legal levels.
Within this range, the initiator (EKOD ,,GRADAC") brought many things into this project cooperating with official team of the Republic Institute for nature Protection on tasks concerning files and organization.
The proposal for protection of 1260 hectares of the water flow and the part, which has always been considered as the most valuable, was finally adopted in the February 2001. The initiator and former trustee of the same although narrower area, besides all obstacles and unjustified doubts, was re-elected once more and continuing realizing chosen and deserved tasks.
One of the projects on this level of guardianship is the publishing of this monograph that will serve as an informative text, but also as a base for some future efforts in terms of widening the protected area and rising the level of its quality. This publication, which partially deals with the protected area of the Gradac river gorge, is a declaration and appeal to re-evaluate and accept issues raised above.
However, there are many more undiscovered qualities of this area and their discovering and re-evaluation represent the new task, which demands new efforts, new skills and new people.
At least twenty people, of which ten authors of the supplements took part in preparation activities for this work. These people mostly from Valjevo but also those who consider this town as their alternative home were dedicated to the idea of nature preservation.
These are experts and scientists from the Republic Institute for Nature Protection (whose proposal was used as the base for this work). Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe - Country Office Yugoslavia (first that funded this edition), experts from Petnica Science Center, near Valjevo and experts of Ecological society ,,Gradac" and several independent authors from other closely affiliated nongovernmental organizations.

(Ecological society ,,Gradac", 2002.)