Golija-Studenica

Golija-Studenica - The development of Ecotourism in a Biosphere Reserve, Serbia by Slavica Cepic, Radmila Mircetic and Dragana Romic

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Name	Golija-Studenica
Location	Southwest Serbia
Country	Serbia
Topic	Recreation, Tourism and Landscape Development
Client	please enter the client here
Completion	Please enter the date of completion
Project costs	Please enter the costs (if known)
Case study author(s)	Slavica Cepic, Radmila Mircetic and Dragana Romic
<googlemap version="0.9" lat="43.448931" lon="20.187378" zoom="8" width="300" height="200"></googlemap>

Rationale: Why is this case study interesting?

• A distinguishing quality of Golija landscape is a combination of social, cultural and natural heritage, which was the ground for proclaiming it as Biosphere Reserve at the first place. The future development of this area should lead to integration and linkage of these three aspects rather than their separate consideration and research. Eco tourism could be one way to revive this area and recreate these linkages, which were at some point neglected and disregarded.

• Think about it from the view of another educator/student in a different country. Why should I use this case study in my teaching/education?

Author's perspective

• What theoretical or professional perspective do you bring to the case study? Please answer from your personal perspective.

Landscape and/or urban context

• This case study area is located in the southwest Serbia and it belongs to the Dinaric mountain system. The area spreads on 53,804 ha and includes mountain Golija and parts of the mountains Radočelo i Čemerno and parts of the Ivanjica, Kraljevo, Raška, Novi Pazar and Sjenica muncipalities.
• The area is characteristic and rich in forests, bogs, minerals and springs.
• Golija is a cultural landscape with high scenic values.

Cultural/social/political context

• Brief explanation of culture, political economy, legal framework

Illustration: Bullet points, image, background notes

• This area is highly appreciated for its cultural heritage. Within the borders of the protected area there are 20 officially recognized cultural monuments: churches and monasteries dating back to the 12th to 17th century, necropolis from the same period, fortifications, and traditional houses from the 19th century.

The monument of the highest importance is the Monastery of Studenica, which was established in the late 12th century by Stefan Nemanja, founder of medieval Serbian state. It is generally one the most significant monuments of the cultural and historical heritage in Serbia. In 1986 Studenica was placed under UNESCO protection as a World Heritage Site. The total area of 262ha around the monastery complex is protected. It is principally rural landscape which embraces several other monuments and churches lying in the close proximity of the monastery. The main structural landscape elements here are forests, meadows and pastures, which create visual and natural background to the architecture of the monastery. In the close proximity of the monastery the construction is forbidden by law. Still there is an evident problem of the sprawl of the unplanned weekend settlements in the vicinity of the monastery complex. Other monasteries situated in the remote and hardly accessible areas are exempted from this influence. There are many significant cultural monuments in the area surrounding the Biosphere Reserve that belong to the same cultural group, time frame and have similar features as the monuments within its borders, and are historically related.

History

• In 2001, UNESCO declared mountain Golija as biosphere reserve. So far it is the only protected area of this kind in Serbia which additionally draws attention to this region. With the specific socio – political circumstances in the country and the ongoing process of economical transition, there is a threat of high, fast and out of hand financial inflows in the region without much regards to regional development strategies. This could imperil so far well preserved nature and cultural landscape of Golija. All these hastened the work on the master plan of the area.

Spatial analysis of area/project/plan

• What are the main structural features?
• How has it been shaped? Were there any critical decisions?

Illustration: Map/diagram/sketches photos and background notes

Analysis of program/function

• What are the main functional characteristics?
• How have they been expressed or incorporated?

Illustration: Map/diagram/sketches photos and background notes

Analysis of design/planning process

• How was the area/project/plan formulated and implemented?
• Were there any important consultations/collaborations?

Illustration: Map/diagram/sketches photos and background notes

Analysis of use/users

• How is the area/project/plan used and by whom?
• Is the use changing? Are there any issues?

Illustration: Map/diagram/sketches photos and background notes

Cross-cutting questions

What are the tasks of the management?

Process of management consists of 4 phases:

1. Planning,

is a phase which includes making decisions, defining a mission and goals in creating and maintaining a plan.

(Making a master plan of the development of tourism with a business plan, based on the financial, market and situation analysis in the country and the site, with the support of Ministry of economy and regional development)

2. Organizing,

is a step in which managers need to define resources, jobs, specific tasks, activities and people which are necessary for reaching the goals.

(Defining: recourses social, natural and cultural heritage, the fact that the area is a Biosphere Reserve; building the required infrastructure, which will improve the accessibility of some facilities and enable the development of ecotourism; including the local communities in the activities and employing more laborers, which will solve the problem of general and local unemployment etc.)

3. Leading and coordinating,

is part of the process which affects other people so they can effectively do their jobs, it both depends on the leader and the leaded.

(The phase of the implementation of the plan and marketing, done by the responsible municipality, which coordinates sub-implementers - private companies)

4. Controlling,

enables conduction of the all planned activities and goals, monitoring of the employees and the process

(Defining institutions, municipalities, private companies etc. which will be in charge in the process of controlling the development)

Future development directions

• How is the area/project/plan evolving?
• Are there any future goals?

Illustration: Map/diagram/sketches photos and background notes

Peer reviews or critique

• Has the area/ project/plan been reviewed by academic or professional reviewers?
• What were their main evaluations?

Pleas add references, quotes...

Points of success and limitations

• What do you see as the main points of success and limitations of the area/project/plan?

Illustration: Summary table

What can be generalized from this case study?

• Are there any important theoretical insights?

Short statement plus background notes

Which research questions does it generate?

Short statement plus background notes

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References

Please add literature, documentations and weblinks

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