The Germans are paying to teach us how to make money from nature conservation

Representatives of the Municipality of Tivat, JP "Morsko dobro" from Budva, the Center for the Protection and Study of Birds from Podgorica and the German NGO "Euronatur" signed a memorandum of cooperation in Tivat, which started the implementation of the project "Experiencing nature on the historic Tivat salt flats on the Montenegrin coast - Connecting nature protection and regional development".

The project worth 102.162 euros is financed by DBU - the German state nature conservation foundation Eurnatur.

"The project aims to popularize natural values ​​and improve the condition of the Tivat salt marshes, a special nature reserve since 2008 and a Ramsar wetland of international importance since 2013. In the next two years, Euronatur, "Morsko dobro", the Municipality of Tivat and the Center for Protection and the study of birds will collaborate on the development of an activity plan for the improvement of this reserve, the popularization of the Tivat salt marshes through the organization of promotional activities to mark important ecological dates on the salt marshes and the creation of promotional materials.

"For the purposes of developing the Activity Plan for the improvement of this reserve, professional assistance will be provided by international experts, and a study visit to the Sečovel salt pans in Slovenia will be provided for the employees of these institutions," said project coordinator Igor Stojović.

The project is complementary to a series of activities that the Municipality of Tivat, "Morsko dobro" and the NGO sector have already undertaken in terms of preservation, arrangement and valorization of the protected nature reserve of Solila.

As announced, "Morsko dobro" will soon build a visitor center on Solili, and a permanent security guard will be hired, whose employment has been funded as part of the cooperation project with the Germans.

"We will all work together to protect Solil. I hope that the future of this important wetland area will be ensured by this project. I am happy that Euronatur is one of the partners," said Pavel Bečka from the same German NGO.

Nebojša Banićević from the Center for the Protection and Study of Birds emphasized that with this project on Solili and similar activities taking place at the Ulcinj salt pan and Lake Skadar, "our public's attention will be drawn to the fact that by preserving nature and developing sustainable tourist activities such as birdwatching , we can make a profit, not only by building hotels, various golf courses, tennis courts, wine cellars and the like".