The Ministry of Culture and Media called for the joint forces to systematically provide a quality response in the creation of policies that will be in accordance with the expectations and recommendations of UNESCO in relation to the preservation of protected areas – Kotor and Durmitor.
The key accents of the UNESCO recommendations refer, as confirmed by the Ministry of Culture, to the extension of the moratorium on construction in Boka Kotorska until the key planning documents are defined and harmonized, i.e. that in the Durmitor NP zone, the implementation of the started infrastructure takes place in accordance with the guidelines on nature protection.
Deadlines
Although UNESCO has not questioned the current status of the area of Kotor and NP Durmitor, Montenegro should submit a report by February 1st next year in which it will inform the World Heritage Committee what has been done in terms of the lack of harmonization of key planning and management documents for the protected area of Kotor , while in the case of Durmitor, that deadline is December 1st of the following year.
Warning
When asked what was highlighted in relation to NP Durmitor, the Ministry stated that the UNESCO experts reiterated the call that tourist complexes should not be built within the protected zone, that the infrastructure projects started must comply with the guidelines and planning documents, “but also that the state address special attention to several projects that are in the immediate vicinity and have an impact on the protected area”.
– A special warning was issued to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Serbia in the context of the Buk Bijela hydroelectric power plant project, the construction of which directly threatens the UNESCO protected area in Montenegro. Both countries are invited to ensure the implementation of the project in accordance with all UNESCO standards and in cooperation with Montenegro – stated the Ministry of Culture.
Everyone’s obligation
They add that it is certainly the obligation of Montenegro to implement the recommended moves and measures in the right way.
– The UNESCO report and the public’s focus on Kotor and Durmitor are a good opportunity to continue in the coming period, with partners from the civil sector, the media, public administration and the academic and international community, to complete, adopt and implement strategic documents that regulate according to European standards the processes that we manage within the scope of competence for UNESCO – stated the Ministry of Culture.
They emphasize that all of this obliges us to react together, systemically, at all levels, from local self-government, the department of ecology, spatial planning and urbanism, foreign affairs and culture.
