Governance Framework And Prospects Of Sustainable Management – Golija-Studenica Biosphere Reserve (Serbia)

Abstract

Mountain areas in Serbia are not legally defined or recognized as entities with special status. Therefore, the governance and management over them do not appear to be significantly different in comparison to other areas in the country. The most mountain specific measures are to be found in the cases of mountainous protected areas such as national parks, nature parks and biosphere reserves. Sustainable development is one of the priority principles in such areas, which makes them special in terms of governing and management. This presentation considers the only mountainous protected area with both national and international protection status in Serbia – the Golija-Studenica Biosphere Reserve. The aim of this research is to look how the governance framework and sustainable management over the Golija-Studenica Biosphere Reserve are defined in the most relevant acts for this area – the Golija Nature Park Spatial Plan (2004), the Golija Nature Park Action Plan 2018-2022 and management programs – and then interpret their success, difficulties and prospects through the interviews with relevant stakeholders (2020).