| ABSTRACT | Starting from the global concern organisations, such as the UN, the climate change represents one of the main contemporary challenges and focuses. The UN General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, defining, among others, the goal that calls for taking prompt actions in order to deal with climate change and its consequences. Even sooner, the Territorial Agenda (2011) rises up as one of the European documents showing concerns about climate change risks and its potential development opportunities. However, the topic of alteration of climate has become increasingly important already in 1990s, when it was determined that climate change is not result of only natural causes, but it is additionally accelerated by human activity. In this course of events, the topic of climate change was introduced into the spatial planning of Serbia in 2010, by a modest pursuit under the “Climate Change Impacts” title in the Spatial Plan 2010-2020.
Although the introduction of the topic into Serbian spatial planning could have been more elaborate, this was relevant innovation and announcement that climate change might be reflected in further decision-making and planning processes. Since that adoption of the next spatial plan of Serbia is expected in 2021, the main aim of this article will be to draw out lessons for the future, by examining existing role of spatial planning in addressing environmental and social impacts, responses and spatial planning instruments regarding the climate change. It will highlight recommendations on relativization of socio-economic and environmental conflicts that should contribute to preparation of upcoming and reconsideration of existing spatial plans at national and regional level, as well as to model decision-making quality – not only in Serbia, but to the Balkan-Mediterranean region that shares climate and challenges.
The aimed results are to be obtained by revision of leading national and regional spatial documents in Serbia (national and regional spatial plans in Serbia, with their Implementation Programs, and instructions for Serbian Climate Change Strategy with its Action Plan, and Strategic Impact Assessment that are currently in preparation process), also addressing other EU regions. The main results are expected from communication with representatives of chosen local communities affected by direct climate change impacts (land-slides, hail, flood, drought, precipitation and water flow extremes, etc.) and the representatives of the ministries responsible for spatial planning, environment, etc. The participatory approach in this research will bring more profound results, as well as inspire decision-makers and planners to integrate societal perspective and impacts of climate change the way it corresponds to characteristics and vulnerabilities of the final users. A particular focus will be on rural/mountain areas and river basins having in mind that these areas are directly threatened by climate change. |