Good management of protected areas

What does a protected area represent in Serbia?

Considering that the best way to preserve nature is by limiting and directing human activities within it, the declaration of protected areas is the most significant mechanism by which society expresses its concern for the diverse landscapes and living world on our planet.

Areas with pronounced geological, biological, or ecosystem value can be protected through a protection act and declared places of general interest as protected areas. In Serbia, this is accomplished through the application of the Law on Nature Protection, which prescribes provisions for the protection of the country's natural values. Since the declaration of the first protected area, Obedska Bara, in 1874, a total of 471 areas have been designated, covering 7.66% of the total territory of Serbia. This figure places Serbia 33rd out of 35 European countries in terms of the area of state territory under protection (the European average for protected areas is 26%). Delays in declaring protected areas have also led to a lack of alignment with the goal defined in the Spatial Plan of the Republic of Serbia for 2021, which stipulates that 12% of the territory should be under protection.

In addition to increasing the area under protection, it is even more important to improve the quality of that protection. Long-term conservation and protection of nature imply skillful and economical management of protected areas, carried out by their managers in accordance with regulations.

However, managers and other stakeholders involved in the management system of protected areas often face various challenges, primarily a lack of different types of resources. A significant number of managers of locally declared protected areas do not have even the basic documents required by the Law on Nature Protection, such as protection measure programs. One of the larger issues is the fact that managers receive weak financial support from the authorities that declared the protection area, as well as assistance in enforcing the law and prescribed obligations. Research from 2020 indicates that only 20 municipalities and cities (out of 74) financed the protected areas they themselves declared.

How will we support Managers of protected areas?

Due to all of the above, one of the goals of the "Together for the Environment" project is to enhance the capacity for managing protected areas.

In this project area, we will analyze the management system for protected areas in Serbia and examine what resources managers need to carry out nature protection as effectively and purposefully as possible.

Through a variety of training programs, mentorship, expert and financial support, as well as knowledge transfer, and drawing on the best global practices, we will support managers of protected areas and other stakeholders in nature protection to improve existing knowledge and build additional skills according to their needs.

We will strive to ensure that information about protected areas is accessible to everyone in order to improve communication among different users and support transparent decision-making. Additionally, we will provide support for establishing user councils for protected areas to enable local communities to participate more significantly in the decision-making process regarding the management of protected areas.

When we talk about good governance of protected areas, the main focus of the "Together for the Environment" project is to strengthen both individual and institutional capacities of key stakeholders in this field, thereby reinforcing the national system of nature protection in the long term.