Strategic environmental assessment and climate change in the Republic of Serbia: Support to development and adjustment process

Abstract

The paper analyzes the SEA status in the Republic of Serbia in the context of climate change problem. In addition to an overview of current legal framework, status and relationship towards the planning process, special attention has also been dedicated to the analysis of current practice - the SEA of plans of different hierarchical levels - for the purpose of giving insight into the current state. The paper stress that the development of the SEA in Serbia has stagnated since the introduction of the Law on Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment (?Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia?, no.135/2004 and 88/2010) in the sense that there are no special activities in innovating methodological and procedural framework, nor public participation initiatives. Further, results of research that has been carried out indicate that climate change problems have not been systematically treated in the SEA, i.e. in plans, and that the existing legal framework is not fully supportive of this problem area. Based on the results, the recommendations have also been formulated which, amongst other things, include the formulation of special guidelines for carrying out the SEA which would, in particular, treat climate change in the sense of instructions related to phases of planning, level and coverage of plans including also examples of good practice, as well as strengthening of institutional framework and permanent education.