NGO Green Home does not support the Government's decision to elect Minister Pavle Radulović to the National Montenegrin Committee for UNESCO, because Radulović does not want to understand the essence of effective and sustainable valorization of areas in Montenegro that have been placed under protection, allowing devastation in the Tara biosphere reserve and negative impacts to the world natural heritage downstream.
"Precisely because of the irresponsible attitude, i.e. the violation of the Convention on the Protection of the World Natural and Cultural Heritage, ecological non-governmental organizations requested a control hearing of the Minister in front of the Committee for Tourism, Agriculture, Ecology and Spatial Planning. The initiative emphasizes that the Minister, together with other actors, was aware with the findings of the Report of the expert team made up of Montenegrin and Slovenian experts, which states that the Tara basin is on the UNESCO list of world biosphere reserves and that, in accordance with international conventions, Montenegro is obliged to 'not deliberately undertake any measures that can directly and indirectly cause negative consequences on the cultural and natural heritage,'" the statement of Green Home states.
As they add, the minister is considered directly responsible for having misused, failed to fulfill and exceeded his official authority for an extended period of time, enabling the devastation of the riverbed, coast and water quality, with serious damage to the animal and plant life of the Tara River as a national and UNESCO-protected natural asset, which is also the subject of part of the criminal complaint that was submitted to the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office at the end of October 2018.
"We believe that the decision of the Government of Montenegro on the election of Radulović is a slap in the face to the citizens and the UNESCO principles of cooperation and understanding. On the basis of 'merit' in the field of spatial planning of national and internationally protected areas of Montenegro, and approved environmental consents for projects that have irretrievably devastated rivers, landscapes and biodiversity, we expect the minister to at least offer his resignation, and inevitably if there is no quick and effective implementation of the measures from the final reports of the international bodies of the Berne Convention and the UNESCO Convention," concludes Green Home's response.
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