Private forests again under the supervision of the Administration: They play ping-pong with the jurisdictions in the forestry sector

The Forest Law came into force in August last year, but the new company envisaged by it has not yet been formed to manage this sector, which is why owners of privately owned forests cannot use them and engage in logging. Therefore, until the new company starts operating, permits for logging (tree clearance) in private forests will be temporarily issued by the Forest and Hunting Management Administration.

This is the essence of the amendments to the Forest Law, which were submitted to the parliamentary procedure yesterday by the deputies of the Socialist People's Party (SNP) Bogdan Božović and Slađana Kaluđerović, to which the current Minister of Agriculture Vladimir Joković belongs. The same deputies submitted additional amendments to this Law back in January, in order to postpone its implementation for a year, i.e. until January 1 of next year.

The Parliament adopted the Forest Law at the end of July last year, while its full implementation was planned for January 1st of this year. However, this did not happen, because almost a year later, a new company that would take over the management of the forest fund has not been established, no money has been allocated for its work in this year's budget, nor has the necessary mechanization been provided.

"Vijesti" learned from a source familiar with the case that the Ministry of Agriculture plans to establish a new state-owned enterprise by the end of September, which would begin operating on January 1, 2026. This scenario also implies amending the Forest Law.

The fact that their forests are blocked has been pointed out by residents of Nikšić villages, who have been demanding that they be allowed to cut down trees in private forests, as the ban has been in place since the end of last year. In mid-June, Joković said that he was on their side and that he would do everything possible to ensure that the amendments were adopted by July 1, which also did not happen.

According to the proposed changes, the Administration would deal with payments for cutting trees in private forests by the end of this year, and the work would be done by their employees who have completed the VII-1 level of national forestry qualification, with a scope of 240 credits and at least one year of experience in growing, protecting and using forests.

"This law proposes amendments aimed at ensuring that owners of privately owned forests have the ability to manage and control their forests, especially with regard to the felling of privately owned forests. Previous legal provisions linked the possibility of felling privately owned forests to the previous activities of the forest management company in the area of ​​tree allocation, which forest management company has not yet been established. Amendments are proposed with the aim of enabling a smooth process of managing and controlling privately owned forests, in which the competent administrative authority will play a significant role, until the forest management company is established," it says in the written explanation of the proposed amendments to the Law, noting that they will enter into force eight days after their publication in the Official Gazette.

Joković told "Vijesti" in March this year that the Forest Law was difficult to implement at that time, that the change in the forest management model in Croatia and Slovenia was gradual and took seven years, that no one from the Forest Management Administration wanted to move to a new company and that there was currently no money for equipment, machinery and other resources. He recently said in a guest appearance on Radio Television of Montenegro that the new company would probably be in place by early September and that he expected the Law to be fully implemented by 2026.

"Vijesti" asked the Ministry of Agriculture what steps they can realistically take by 2026, where they will find workers and what their salaries will be, and how the new company will initially operate. The questions were sent on June 30, but the answers had not been submitted by the time this issue was published.

The Committee on Tourism, Agriculture, Ecology and Spatial Planning will soon hear Joković and the Director of the Forestry Administration Miloš Rajković, on the subject of the situation in Montenegrin forests after the implementation of this Law. The initiative for the hearing was submitted by opposition MPs, and at a session held two days ago, they announced that the EU has withdrawn 2,4 million euros from forestry and IPA projects because they do not want to cooperate with a Ministry that does not respect the agreement and rules.

The Ministry denied that information.

The fact that their forests are blocked has been pointed out by residents of Nikšić villages, who have been demanding permission to cut down trees in private forests, as the ban has been in place since the end of last year.