The local community in Novi Bečej has recognized its role in managing cultural and natural heritage as a resource for sustainable development. In projects like the IPA project "Discovering Our Forgotten Cultural and Natural Heritage in the Hungarian-Serbian Border Region," they supported research and sustainable use of heritage for the development of the local community. In the municipality of Novi Bečej, there is an exceptionally rich natural environment as well as archaeological sites that contain traces of human activities throughout history. Among the natural heritage, Slano Kopovo, a special nature reserve, is of particular value due to its importance for preserving biodiversity and rare species.
The Slano Kopovo Nature Reserve is located five kilometers east of Novi Bečej. It encompasses the paleo-meander of the Tisza River, consisting of two water-filled depressions: the Veliko Kopovo swamp and the Poštino Kopovo swamp. The larger depression, Veliko Kopovo, is saline, while the smaller one, Poštino Kopovo, is freshwater. Due to climate change, Veliko Kopovo increasingly dries out during the summer, while water in Poštino Kopovo is only present during the autumn and winter months.
The SRP Slano Kopovo was protected by a decree from the Government of the Republic of Serbia in 2001 as a valuable saline-swamp habitat, which is degraded or on the verge of complete disappearance in other parts of Europe. It is one of the most important saline habitats for wetland birds in Pannonia, characteristic of Pontic-Caspian salines and coastal areas, and one of the key stopovers for thousands of wetland birds and cranes during their autumn migration from Northern Europe to Africa.
The special value of Slano Kopovo is enhanced by the presence of saline vegetation, which has already disappeared from other places in Europe. Plant species such as the Pannonian endemics Suaeda pannonica and the critically endangered Salicornia europaea grow only in Slano Kopovo in Serbia, as recorded in the Red Book of Flora of Serbia. The flora of Slano Kopovo also includes Plantago schwarzenbergiana, a Transylvanian-Pannonian endemic listed on the World Red List of Plants. In addition to these species, other endangered or vulnerable saline plants are maintained in Slano Kopovo.
After its protection, a series of projects were initiated for the conservation, management, and use of the SRP Slano Kopovo area. The first successful project involved purchasing a part of private agricultural land in the reserve, funded by Esconet Action Fund and EuroNatur European funds, with the goal of converting arable land into pastures and meadows. As part of the project, 75 hectares of land were acquired, beginning the process of resolving the conflict between the prescribed protection measures in the reserve and agricultural production on arable land, with the implementation of full agrotechnical measures.
The next project, perhaps the most important for preserving the natural values of SRP Slano Kopovo, is the project to regulate the water regime in the reserve to mitigate the negative effects of climate change. By constructing a secondary canal from the main DTD canal to Poštino Kopovo and acquiring a pump of appropriate capacity, conditions were created to influence the water balance in the reserve.
A visitor center was established in the reserve through the purchase of an existing weekend house with an associated plot as part of the land acquisition. This facility hosts educational programs, nature workshops for children and youth, summer research ecological workshops, and eco-tourism programs, such as welcoming cranes on their journey south.
The "Cranes Festival" was conceived by the local Tourist Organization and the Novi Bečej Hunting Association and has been held annually since 2012 in November. These impressive birds arrive on the exact day and hour at their stopover site, making it easy to organize their reception. The number of birds exceeds 8,000. More and more citizens participate in this unusual event, especially enjoying the experience through binoculars and spotting scopes.
Although the area of SRP Slano Kopovo represents a micro-locality, with a surface of only 970 hectares, it has preserved visible traces of the culture of the people who passed through these areas in their migrations in past times. For the purposes of developing the Management Plan for SRP Slano Kopovo for 2008-2012, archaeological reconnaissance was carried out on the western shore between the mound near Bašaid Road and Maslar Mound. Surface observations on the western shore of Veliko Kopovo, in the area from the mound on Bašaid Road to the metal cross and well in the reeds, known as "Vodice", revealed smaller prehistoric settlement units.
The archaeological site Matejski Brod, located just 1.5 km northwest of Slano Kopovo, stands out for its richness of findings. Previous research indicates that there were multiple prehistoric settlements at Matejski Brod. The oldest sites date back to the Starčevo culture (6400-5600 BC), the Vinča culture (5500-4700 BC) was confirmed with tools made of polished and chipped stone and numerous ceramic vessels, while the Potiska culture (5000-4400 BC) is the most prominent cultural layer at Matejski Brod. Excavations at this site have been conducted by experts from the National Museum in Zrenjanin. The site has not yet been presented, although it has significant tourist potential.
The landscape of SRP Slano Kopovo is dominated by mounds - kurgans. Three mounds are completely preserved and form significant points in this landscape. The mounds were built during the Bronze Age between 2200 and 700 BC along the riverbanks. The mounds were raised for burial and observation purposes. Their dimensions varied, reaching heights of up to 20 meters and diameters exceeding 50 meters. They were usually built on riverbanks, so the mounds at Slano Kopovo follow the abandoned bed of the Tisza River.
East of Slano Kopovo are the remains of the Arača basilica. The settlement at the Arača site existed from prehistoric times, through the Roman period, to the Middle Ages, whose findings confirm the settlement simultaneously with the original church, built in the 11th century. The continuity of the Arača settlement was maintained until the beginning of the Austrian Military Administration over Banat when it was abandoned by its inhabitants due to high taxes and forced labor.
Banat became part of Austria in 1718 after the Treaty of Požarevac. From 1769 to 1772, the Imperial Chamber conducted the mapping of Banat to establish cadastral books. The use of the Slano Kopovo area can be reconstructed based on preserved maps. The first Austrian map clearly marked Slano Kopovo. This map shows two roads, one towards present-day Kikinda and one connecting the fortress on the Tisza with Arača. On the maps from 1806-1869, no farmsteads are marked on Slano Kopovo, but the field roads are clearly marked, indicating that the land was divided and cultivated. The 1897 map, in addition to field roads, marshy areas, and mounds, marked two farmsteads. This map also shows wells with wooden beams on the northern and southern pastures, indicating the use of meadows for grazing. On maps from the first half of the 20th century, seven farmsteads are marked. The network of field roads is even more developed. By the mid-20th century, there was no significant difference in the living standards of farmstead residents and settlement inhabitants. In fact, farmstead residents were in a more favorable position due to the proximity of the fields they cultivated and the meadows where they kept livestock. The impact of political changes after World War II, agrarian reform, the reduction of land holdings to 10 hectares, and the development of agricultural mechanization and technology, along with the improvement of living standards in settlements, led to a complete change in agricultural production methods and the almost total abandonment of farmsteads. On the 1968 map, only one farmstead remained marked in the Slano Kopovo area. Currently, there are two active farmsteads at Slano Kopovo, one old and one newly built near Bašaid Road, but their future is uncertain.
The Slano Kopovo area was of interest to military strategists between the two world wars. Before World War II, the Royal Yugoslav Army cut the land strip between the Tisza marshes and Slano Kopovo with a deep anti-tank trench, and a belt of concrete bunkers was built from Matejski Brod, along the ridge on the western shore of Veliko Kopovo. The bunkers were placed in line with the kurgans - whether by coincidence or the same logic used by ancient peoples. Some kurgans were used for the placement of bunkers. This small "Maginot Line" shared the fate of the large "Maginot Line" in France, being bypassed, overflown by aviation, and never used.
The wealth of cultural and natural heritage at Slano Kopovo is significant and largely unexplored, as is the case with other locations in the Municipality of Novi Bečej. It remains for the local community, non-governmental organizations, and individuals to promote the heritage through their activities and work on its discovery, preservation, and use as an important resource for sustainable development.
