BELGRADE, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Improving Serbia's environment to meet requirements of Serbia's European Union (EU) membership aspirations will be challenging, but this is "highly important for the future generations", Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic estimated on Tuesday here on the occasion of the World Environment Day.

Brnabic together with other officials marked the World Environment Day by participating in a campaign to clean the space around the Sava Lake in the capital of Belgrade.

After the cleaning campaign in support of this year's global cause to remove plastic waste from everyday use as well as from the environment, Brnabic said that "cleaning is in a way a patriotic act".

"It is important to maintain Serbia as clean as possible for future generations," she said and reminded that this government established a special ministry for this purpose.

Brnabic estimated that implementation of Chapter 27 of the European Acquis related to ecology will be" the toughest and the most expensive" of all requirements in the process of European integrations, but she stressed that the "environmental protection is important first of all because of our country, and the future generations".

A ceremony was also organized at the "Jevremovac" Botanical Garden in downtown Belgrade hosted by Minister of Environmental Protection Goran Trivan, who said in his keynote speech that the government made immense success in environmental protection since the ministry was formed some 10 months ago and promised even better performance in the near future.

He said that during this period, the ministry put in focus the topics such as quality of drinking water, toxic waste management, quality of arable land and engaged in projects to plant new forests.

"Climate changes are an ongoing process, and it's essential to undertake adequate measures. Planting trees is by far the most efficient and cheapest way to adapt," he said.

He illustrated that since merchants started charging for non-recyclable plastic bags, their usage has been decreased by 50 percent in Serbia, and promised that the ministry will start similar campaigns concerning air pollution, noise in urban areas, preservation of protected natural sites and limiting construction in the country's nature parks.