The essays in this book present, for the first time in published form, a systematic comparative overview of cultural heritage policy and its impact – specifically in the field of immovable heritage such as archaeological and historic sites – in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, “The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, Montenegro, Romania and Serbia. The studies focus on the decade from 2003 to 2013 that followed the traumatic and often violent upheavals associated with the breakdown of communism. That same period also saw a shift in the policy of the European Union and the Council of Europe in support of cultural heritage policies in the region, which led to the launching of the “Ljubljana Process: rehabilitating our common heritage”. The challenges gradually moved from encouraging professionals to adopt European standards and realising the potential of heritage to build bridges between peoples and to foster reconciliation, towards highlighting its wider benefits as a catalyst of economic development for the local economy and the quality of life of citizens. Theorists and practitioners will gain a better insight into the value of cultural heritage and the specificity of cultural heritage policies in South-East Europe, as well as the underlying facts, vision, context and impact of the Ljubljana Process. This will encourage questioning of existing public policies, as well as the promotion and affirmation of cultural heritage within a new “culture of development”.

Recent developments in cultural heritage policy and practice in South-East Europe. Since 2003, the Council of Europe–European Commission joint initiative known as the “Ljubljana Process: rehabilitating our common heritage” has set out to unlock the potential of the region’s rich immovable cultural heritage, working with national authorities to accelerate the development of democratic, peaceful and open societies, stimulate local economies and improve the quality of life of local communities. In 2003, the region was overcoming the effects of the traumatic transition to a market economy. Since then, it has been hit hard by the economic crisis of 2008, and more recently by an unprecedented migration crisis. Despite the challenges facing the region in the field of cultural heritage, the present situation can be seen as an opportunity to use the lessons learned from the Ljubljana Process to avoid the traps laid by the cumulative and sometimes inconsistent heritage-protection legislation of the past 60 years, overcoming the legacy of the top-down approach that privileges the “high art” canon rather than the local heritage that reflects the culture of everyday life and which often means more to most people. The authors suggest that selecting from innovative practice elsewhere could make heritage management smarter so that it more directly meets the needs of modern society and individual citizens. This volume reflects the views of international experts involved in the joint initiative and complements earlier studies on the impact of the Ljubljana Process by experts from within the region (Heritage for development in South-East Europe, edited by Gojko Rikolović and Hristina Mikić, 2014) and from the London School of Economics and Political Science (The wider benefits of investment in cultural heritage. Case studies in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, edited by Will Bartlett, 2015).

The CHERPLAN project (CHERPLAN stands for “Enhancement of Cultural Heritage through Environmental Planning and Management") aims to provide a strong basis for ensuring compatibility and synergy between cultural heritage conservation and socioeconomic growth by fostering the adoption of a modern environmental planning approach throughout southeast Europe (SEE). The aim of environmental planning is to integrate traditional urban/spatial planning with the concerns of environmentalism to ensure sustainable development; when innovatively applied to cultural heritage sites, environmental planning’s comprehensive perspective can be regarded as composed of three spheres: the built and historical environment, the socioeconomic and cultural environment, and the biophysical environment. In this regard, this publication, as one of the results of the CHERPLAN project, addresses vital parts of cultural heritage management. It provides the basic framework defined by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), and guidelines for twenty specific management issues composed of a thematic introduction, recommendations, and good-practice examples. Thus, the publication provides practical information on the application of environmental planning in SEE, some of it developed within CHERPLAN pilot projects and some of it defined through the experiences of other cultural heritage sites. In both cases, recommendations and good-practice examples present local traditional knowledge and experience that has been developed through successful management practices in the past. The publication aims to assist cultural heritage site managers in their everyday decisions by supporting them with firm technical knowledge and specific instructions on how to react in a given situation. In this regard, it could support the recently issued World Heritage Resource Manual on Managing Cultural World Heritage, which was published by UNESCO in November 2013. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Knjiga Upravljanje območij s kulturno dediščino v Jugovzhodni Evropi, kot eden od rezultatov projekta CHERPLAN, naslavlja ključna vprašanja upravljanja območij s kulturno dediščino. Predstavlja osnovni okvir, ki sta ga na tem področju izoblikovala Unesco in ICOMOS, ter usmeritve za dvajset različnih izzivov upravljanja, kjer vsakega pospremimo z uvodom, priporočili in primeri dobrih praks. Knjiga tako zagotavlja praktične informacije za uveljavljanje okoljskega planiranja na območjih s kulturno dediščino v Jugovzhodni Evropi, pri čemer je bil del priporočil pripravljen znotraj pilotnih območij, del pa smo jih prevzeli od drugje. V obeh primerih predstavljajo priporočila in dobre prakse preverjena lokalna znanja, saj so jih v opisanih primerih uspešno uporabili. Projekt CHERPLAN – Krepitev kulturne dediščine z okoljskim načrtovanjem in upravljanjem – je bil namenjen zagotavljanju sinergij med ohranjanjem kulturne dediščine in družbenoekonomskim razvojem, s posebnim poudarkom na razvoju in uporabi okolju prijaznih skupnih pristopov in novih tehnik v načrtovanju in upravljanju območij s kulturno dediščino v Jugovzhodni Evropi. Običajno se na tovrstnih območjih pojavlja navzkrižje interesov med sistemom zaščite kulturne dediščine, ki lokalnemu okolju postavlja določene omejitve, ter potrebo lokalnega okolja po razvoju in modernizaciji. Namen projekta je bil tako tradicionalne načine planiranja nadgraditi z okoljskimi elementi ter na ta način zagotavljati celostno načrtovanje območij s kulturno dediščino. Knjiga je namenjena upravljavcem območij s kulturno dediščino in naj bi jim pomagala pri vsakodnevnih odločitvah s tehničnim znanjem in praktičnimi nasveti, kako se odzvati v konkretni situaciji. Tako lahko knjiga dopolnjuje leta 2013 izdani priročnik Unesca o upravljanju območij s kulturno dediščino (World Heritage Resource Manual on Managing Cultural World Heritage).

As part of the Institutional Capacity Building Plan, which is the first of the three components of the Regional Programme for Cultural and Natural Heritage in South-East Europe launched in 2003, a "transnational theme-based debate" was organised. The second step in this debate stemmed from an assessment of requests from the countries/regions participating in the Regional Programme: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo/ UNMIK, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia".The first step was concerned with current heritage policies and legislation. Its aim was to take stock of the position regarding legislative reforms and heritage policies in the countries of South-East Europe. It also highlighted the need for an in-depth analysis of certain key areas where difficulties still arose in implementation.The second step was concerned with tools for integrated management of the cultural and natural heritage, in the broad sense of the term "heritage" (the concept of cultural environment). It linked together three key topics previously identified: documentation systems, incorporating the heritage dimension in environment, regional development and town planning documents, permits, controls and penalties related to heritage conservation work.

As part of the Institutional Capacity Building Plan, which is the first of the three components of the Regional Programme for Cultural and Natural Heritage in South-East Europe launched in 2003, the first stage of a "transnational theme-based debate" was organised following an assessment of requests from the countries/regions participating in the regional programme: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo/UNMIK, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia".It was concerned with current heritage policies and legislation and aimed to take stock of the current position in the countries of South-East Europe. It also highlighted the need to undertake an in-depth analysis of certain key areas where difficulties still arise with regard to implementation.

Future economic development and the well-being of citizens in South East Europe (SEE) increasingly depend on greater economic competitiveness. Realising the region’s economic potential requires a holistic, growth-oriented policy approach. Against the backdrop of enhanced European Union (EU) ...

The future sustainable economic development and well-being of citizens in South East Europe depend on greater economic competitiveness. Reinforcing the region’s economic potential in a post-COVID-19 context requires a holistic, inclusive and growth‐oriented approach to policy making.