Any construction in the area of the "Durmitor" National Park could lead to the expulsion of that National Park from the world list of protected areas.
Members of the UNESCO mission, in November 2018, in Žabljak, allegedly warned the representatives of the Municipality, the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism and the Public Enterprise "National Parks of Montenegro" and the Environmental Protection Agency about this.
This was reported to "Vijesta" by the representatives of the citizens of Žabljak and the NGO "Tourist Association Žabljak" (TUŽ), who asked the authorities to inform them what happened in November in the building of the Municipality of Žabljak. "We received information that at that meeting very clear and unequivocal guidelines from the officials of the UNESCO mission were presented that no construction is allowed in the Durmitor National Park zone, including the installation of bungalows and related facilities in the Black Lake area, as well as the expansion of ski - center on Savina Kuk, but only the replacement of the existing cable cars", they told "Vijesti".
They point out that they were informed that at that meeting a UNESCO representative spoke about the importance of the Black Lake, comparing it to a work of art.
"They said - you have the Mona Lisa, other cities don't have the Mona Lisa. You cannot put it in a plastic frame. Either you will have Mona Lisa or Disneyland”.
The representatives of TUŽ announced that they fear that the authorities will continue to violate UNESCO's warnings, because they have already done so by signing a contract with the company Explorer, whose plans to build temporary facilities on the shore of the Black Lake were prevented by protests:
"Which is located in Zone II protection and where any intervention is strictly prohibited."
The Court of Justice says that for this reason they asked the MORT, the Municipality, the Agency and JP "National Parks" for the minutes and conclusions from that meeting, so that the general public would be familiar with the UNESCO guidelines.
They point out that the minutes from that meeting must be made public as soon as possible, given that there is no UNESCO approval for construction in the protected area, and that the project, financial resources, tender documentation and a contractor have been provided for the planned works on the cable car.
"For the removal from the UNESCO list of protected areas, we all together have no explanation for generations, and we would also be denied the possibility of correcting the mistake. We hope that you will understand the importance of your quick response, and provide us with the records in question, not so much for our sake as for our survival on the UNESCO world heritage map," reads the letter they sent to the authorities.
They received answers only from the Municipality of Žabljak and the Agency, which informed them that they did not attend the meeting.
The Municipality of Žabljak said that members of the UNESCO Advisory Mission from the IUCN and the World Heritage Center, Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism attended the meeting with the President of the Municipality and the Secretary for Administration and Social Activities and the Secretary for Spatial Planning, Environmental Protection, Communal-Housing Affairs and the Montenegrin National Commission for UNESCO;
"Members of the mission, independently of the meeting with the representatives of the municipality, had separate meetings with the management of the JPNP of Montenegro in Podgorica and NP 'Durmitor' in Žabljak. The concept of the meeting was reflected in the answers and explanations of the representatives of the municipality to the numerous questions posed by the members of the mission. Minutes were not kept at the meeting, nor were the conclusions drawn from it, and for the reason that the methodology of the organization of the mission entails the preparation of a detailed report by UNESCO experts, which provides an overview of the current situation and clear guidelines for the competent institutions for further activities", claim the Municipality headed by is Veselin Vukićević.
Vukićević: UNESCO asked about the state of the "Durmitor" National Park
Vukićević's cabinet explained that the goal of the UNESCO mission's visit was to collect as much data as possible from all relevant addresses about the situation in the "Durmitor" National Park and the issue of changing the borders of the National Park.
"At the mentioned meeting, there was also talk about plans related to the infrastructure on the Black Lake, and the position of the mission itself will be known after the adoption of the Report. The draft report of the mission was submitted to the state for analysis and possible corrections, so the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism is currently working on the finalization of the corrections, after which it will be sent to UNESCO and shortly thereafter available to the general public on the UNESCO website.
Save the lake, the fight continues
Residents of Durmitor and fans of that mountain recently fought to prevent Luka Bulatović from Kolašin from building bungalows, a children's playground, an adventure park, an artificial climbing wall on the shore of the Black Lake...
The construction in the heart of the National Park "Durmitor", which is under the protection of UNESCO, was put on hold by the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism, which withdrew the Plan of temporary structures of the National Park "Durmitor" for the period 2017 - 2019.
MORT, which is headed by Pavle Radulović, recently explained to "Vijesta" that the entire planning document has been invalidated and that it does not only refer to construction in the Black Lake area.
TUŽ says that after the battle for the lake, they are facing a fight to preserve every inch of the protected area.
Pirin is threatened with expulsion from the list
The media recently reported that in mid-March, the Bulgarian government ignored the wishes of 76.000 citizens who advocated for the protection of UNESCO World Heritage sites in Bulgaria and approved a management plan that is destructive to Pirin National Park. They did this by ignoring the law of Bulgaria and the recommendations of the UNESCO Committee.
The interim Minister of Environment and Water has taken a serious step towards enabling construction in Pirin, which would endanger the flora and fauna.
Bonus video:
