One of the most important goals of the Spatial Plan of Montenegro is balanced regional development, stronger connection of the northern region with the central and coastal regions, sustainable use of natural resources, development of infrastructure, especially transport as a prerequisite for faster development of economic activities and valorization of potential in the Northern region.
This was announced at the recently held round table “Spatial plan of Montenegro until 2040 – spatial plan concept” organized by the Chamber of Commerce of Montenegro (PKCG) in cooperation with the Ministry of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism.
As announced on the PKCG website, the meeting was held with the aim of presenting the natural potentials in the sectors of agriculture, forestry, water management and mining, and to exchange opinions with representatives of the economy from these areas with the aim of sustainable development of the aforementioned activities, and thus the use and space arrangement.
– The concept of the plan represents one of the stages in the development of the Spatial Plan of Montenegro, which should define the goals of development, use and arrangement of space, which will be verified in the further procedure through the process of drafting the plan, public discussion and adoption of the plan – the announcement states.
Slavica Pavlović, Director of the Association Sector of the Chamber of Commerce, in her welcoming speech, pointed out that spatial planning is one of the key instruments for establishing a long-term and sustainable framework for social, territorial and economic development, and emphasized the importance of the economy for the creation of planning documents applicable in practice.
Marina Izgarević Pavićević, General Director of the Directorate for Spatial Planning and Information Systems in the Ministry of Ecology, said that the Spatial Plan Concept was drawn up, which was given to the public for prior participation, a phase that lasts until February 6. She invited interested parties – state institutions and the economy to submit inputs, so that the spatial plan would be of the highest quality. According to her, the Ministry will commit to completing this document in a short period of time.
Businessmen were able to hear from Svetlana Jovanović, spatial planner, head of the PPCG working team, about key strategic planning messages from the Plan Concept, possible planning solutions, planning effects, as well as potentials, limitations, possible challenges in the way of using space and development different economic activities.
– One of the most important goals of the Spatial Plan is balanced regional development, stronger connection of the northern region with the central and coastal regions, sustainable use of natural resources, development of infrastructure, especially traffic as a prerequisite for faster development of economic activities and valorization of potential in the northern region – said Jovanović.
She emphasized the need to improve agriculture and preserve, protect and sustainably manage forests, connect the agriculture sector with tourism, preserve the countryside and plan to stop the very pronounced negative demographic trends in the northern region of the country.
The participants of the round table, representatives of the economy, the working team and local governments, particularly emphasized the necessity of more complete valorization of the potential of the north of the country, and the diversification of activities in order to create new jobs in order to meet the European green agenda and solve the challenge of depopulation of this area.
– Protection of the environment is certainly a priority, but the development and valorization of potential is necessary, which is also rampant in Western Europe. This is also proposed in the Concept Plan through the scenario of sustainable development, which implies intensive development based on “green policy”, which is spatially and ecologically acceptable. It was also pointed out the necessity of harmonizing development strategies that often refer to the same area and are in a kind of conflict – it was clarified.
As stated, Montenegrin forests have been unfairly neglected as a resource, especially considering the space they occupy.
– In order for this potential to be adequately used, it is necessary to improve planning, because without a planning document in forestry, nothing can be done operationally – it is stated in the announcement.
The participants of the round table agree that the preservation and protection of agricultural land from degradation and conversion into construction land is extremely important. Also, they point to the importance of strictly respecting the purpose of land, especially water land, so that we do not have problems with water sources and the risks that are expressed during floods, such as occurred in this period.
The need for local communities to be proactively involved in the planning process, as well as all other interested parties, is emphasized, the participants of the round table assessed. The representatives of all the municipalities of Montenegro are involved in the development of the plan.
This was the first of two planned round tables on this topic. The second meeting will focus on the sectors of transport, tourism, energy, and mariculture and is planned for February 3, also at the Chamber of Commerce of Montenegro.
