Strategic environmental impact assessment in spatial planning: An instrument for assessment of importance of plan solutions for environmental protection and sustainable development

Abstract

Protection, improvement and rational utilization of the environment becomes more and more primary task in modern society's struggle for more ecological healthy and humane living and working conditions. In order to living conditions satisfy man's social, economic, health and other needs protection, improvement and utilization of the environment must be in accordance with principles of sustainable development. Fact that planned solutions have great influence on quality of some environmental elements imposes importance of spatial planning for providing healthy environment as one of basic human needs. As in many planning documents environmental aspect was not considering in the way that it was needed to be, there arose a need for Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment in aim to verify are the planning documents in coherence with environmental protection and sustainable development.

Zaštita, unapređenje i racionalno korišćenje životne sredine sve više postaje primarni zadatak u borbi savremenog društva za ekološki zdravije i humanije uslove života i rada. Kako bi uslovi života čoveka zadovoljili njegove socijalne, ekonomske, zdravstvene i druge potrebe, zaštita, unapređenje i korišćenje prostora mora biti u skladu sa načelima održivog razvoja. Činjenica da se planskim rešenjima u velikoj meri utiče na kvalitet pojedinih elemenata životne sredine nameće značaj planiranja prostora za obezbeđivanje zdrave životne sredine kao jedne od osnovnih ljudskih potreba. Kako se u mnogim planskim dokumentima nije vodilo računa o aspektu životne sredine, ili ne u meri u kojoj je to bilo potrebno, javila se potreba za uvođenjem strateške procene uticaja (SPU), koja ima za cilj da "proveri" da li su planska rešenja u skladu sa zaštitom životne sredine i održivim razvojem.