eng info:eu-repo/semantics/article Cultural landscape management Communities’ perception Development opportunities Extractive industries Questionnaire https://unilib.phaidrabg.rs/o:6692 doi:10.1016/j.exis.2023.101361 Cultural landscape management in context: Local communities’ perceptions under Jadar mineral extraction project in Serbia Elsevier Ivanović, Stojan Tomićević-Dubljević, Jelena Bjedov, Ivana Đorđević, Ilija Živojinović, Ivana application/pdf 12738389 bytes The Extractive Industries and Society volume: 16 startpage: 101361 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode 2023 In 2004, a new lithium-rich mineral, ’jadarite’, was discovered in Serbia. In 2020, the government of Serbia and mining giant Rio Tinto announced a plan to extract lithium, which sparked massive environmental protests across the country. In this paper, we study perceptions of local communities towards Jadar mineral extraction project, which is planned in the zone of the cultural landscape ‘Trˇsi´c Tronoˇsa’. We employed a household-level face-to-face survey, conceptually following the sustainable livelihood approach. Results shows that local communities anticipate negative changes in environmental quality, lifestyle, and activities such as agriculture and tourism, which are seen as vital for future development compatible with the cultural landscape conservation goals. Local communities perceive a bias towards private companies by the government authorities, driven by economic interests that, as seen by locals, may also be influenced by international political pressures. Other factors, such as lack of participatory approaches and non-transparent communication were also negatively perceived. We argue that mineral extraction planning in high biodiversity and cultural heritage areas is sensitive because local communities are strongly tied through historical activities and traditions to the landscape and are not willing to trade off their environment for the economic benefits that the mineral industry could bring.