Certain aspects of governance in cultural heritage areas: The case of three archaeological sites in Serbia

Abstract

Cultural heritage sites provide an interesting arena for the research of governance processes in the multidisciplinary field of their protection and planning. The need for the preservation of cultural asset on the one hand, and the requests for development of activities (tourism, agriculture, housing), on the other hand, are in constant conflict. Attempts are being made to overcome disagreements between a number of actors using different mechanisms, both formal and informal. The formal planning system in Serbia plays an important part in the protection of cultural heritage. However, informal practices are not rare and they interact in an important way with the formal planning system to bridge the gap between actors and disciplines. This paper, using three archaeological sites in Serbia as a case study (Belo Brdo-Vinca, Caricin grad and Medijana-South), researches plans and policies, institutional and methodological solutions, and the relationship between the public, private and civil sectors in the areas of cultural heritage sites. Through the analysis of documents and procedures, interactions between actors, interrelations between formal procedures and informal arenas, recommendations for future planning and preservation practices are given.