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This purpose of this study is to explore the integration of the sustainable development concept and goals into the curriculum of higher education studies using the example of three faculties of the University of Belgrade.

A qualitative content analysis has been applied on two levels: the evaluation of the sustainability of courses starting from the criteria defined using the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (ASHE, 2017), and the analysis of the outcomes defined in the curricula of subjects within the three faculties using the UNESCO learning objectives related to selected sustainable development goals (SDGs) as a criteria.

While the largest number of courses were analyzed from the Faculty of Architecture, the highest proportion of sustainability courses was found in the Faculty of Security Studies. Both study areas reflect a stronger interdisciplinary orientation, although it should be strengthened in the case of the Andragogy study program. Based on the experience of the Faculty of Architecture, the courses implemented by linking theory and practice may significantly contribute to achieving the LOs and to implementing the education for sustainable development. At the University of Belgrade, strategic documents are missing that would encourage and oblige the faculties to apply the concept of sustainability.

This is the first study to apply this type of curricula analysis at the University of Belgrade. It is performed by teachers from the university, coming from different disciplinary fields but oriented towards an interdisciplinary perspective. Although performed in three specific study areas within a single university, the identified gaps and trends may be useful for planning interventions toward accelerating the implementation of SDGs in the higher education curricula.

The purpose of this paper is to present the major gaps in the field of planning policy and its implementation regarding climate change and disaster risk reduction (DRR), with special reference to the displacement of people, together with the knowledge needed to increase community resilience. The researched relations are illustrated by the example of Serbia. The Republic of Serbia has been faced with increasingly visible impacts of climate change in recent years – floods, heat waves, droughts and others. During the floods that hit Serbia in 2014, over 30,000 people experienced displacement. These events have triggered numerous efforts, both to repair the incurred damage and to analyze opportunities for prevention.

This research has used document analysis to investigate contemporary approaches defined by policies, programs and research reports regarding climate change and DRR, with special reference to the displacement of people. An analytical framework has been used to evaluate to what extent the planning policy framework in Serbia addresses these issues in the context of achieving resilient development. Secondary analysis of research data has been used to recognize the gaps and identify needs for increasing community resilience.

Based on the growing trends in projections of climate change as a result of induced natural disasters for the region in the future and international trends in coping with these issues, this paper argues that it is necessary to improve the implementation of the planning policy framework and the capacities of professionals and citizens, to reduce future displacement and increase community resilience to climate change. The key weaknesses found within DRR and the emergency management system in Serbia were the lack of an appropriate information base of the cadastre of risk zones and the lack of information and coordination of actors on the local to the national level. During the “pre-disaster” period, findings stress a weak partnership and capacity development practice at the local level, as well as between local responsible bodies and regional/national entities in charge of emergency management and DRR. The paper singles out the main preconditions for achieving effective resilient planning, so that such a plan can move “people away from marginal areas” and provide living conditions that are resilient.

This paper provides a comprehensive insight analysis of the relations between climate change and DRR, with special reference to the planning policy. Using the lessons learned from the recent climate-induced disaster with its implications on displacement, the paper identifies needs for strengthening capacities to establish more resilient communities in Serbia. The gaps and needs identified, as well as the recommendations provided, may be of value for neighboring countries as well, who face similar challenges in climate change adaptation and who need to increase disaster risk resilience.

Global challenges that the world faces today call into question people's understanding of sustainability and the actions to be taken to meet that ideal. The role assigned to education in promoting sustainability by international documents has yet to be applied to national strategies in many countries. This paper aims to promote a strategic approach and to identify techniques for analysis to be used in development of quality education programs, tailored to specific needs in protected areas and to sustainability goals in a particular social context.

Using an adult education approach and social science methodology, a proposal for a research framework is offered, seeking a better understanding of the role of education in improving sustainable protected area governance. Within the framework of sustainable development and lifelong learning concepts, the existing gap in the field is discussed and a brief review of the issues present in Serbia as a country in transition is given.

This approach may be modified to specific contexts and goals, and applied with this purpose to other similar social environments, especially in countries in transition within the region. It may lead to creating more adequate education programs and increased capacities for managing protected areas.

The paper moves away from a project‐driven, ad hoc and rather scholarly to an integral approach to capacities for sustainable protected area governance, including an institutional, organizational and individual level and a lifelong learning perspective. It also promotes a specific, contextual and participatory definition of sustainability, rather than seeking for a universal one.