A comparative case-study on social and public administration aspects on mineral deposits safeguarding in chosen European countries

Abstract

Representatives of the municipality decide about the country's resources, making decisions at the local level in spatial planning. Our task was to check whether they are aware of how important they are taking steps for the region and country. For this purpose, a survey was conducted in Poland, Austria, Serbia and Sweden. The analysis of the received responses indicates that the respondents know the deposits of raw materials in their area of work. However, they only partially perceive the need to protect them against development that may sterilize the raw material. The analysis shows that the respondents, do not consider of non-renewable mineral resources wider importance against the background of public interest. Additionally, there is no rational assessment of the consequences of losing non-renewable resources through planning decisions. We notice that the national guidelines, where a wider perspective can be present, should be clearer regarding the importance of safeguarding minerals – so that development that hampers their future use is avoided. The changing geopolitical situation makes it necessary to raise awareness about the problem of raw material security and reconsider the systems to safeguard them.