The new UNESCO report, which became official fifteen days ago, does not contain a single sentence that would challenge the reconstruction of the existing Savin kuk cable car.
This was announced by the Žabljak Tourist Association, responding to the Government's claims that they abandoned the reconstruction of the ski resort in Žabljak due to the findings of the UNESCO Advisory Mission for the World Heritage National Park "Durmitor" and directed valuable equipment to the ski resorts of Žarski and Cmiljače.
"We call you to account, because if UNESCO opposes the reconstruction of the existing cable cars, please make those documents public and dispel the suspicion that you are continuing with deception and an incorrect attitude towards Žabljak and the people of Žabljak", says the statement delivered to "Vijesti".
They stated that the mission report states that reconstruction and modernization is possible within the limits of the current capacities and in the routes of the existing cable cars.
"The tourist association of businessmen of Žabljak and civic initiatives of Žabljak wholeheartedly support the reconstruction of the existing cable cars for a long time for several reasons: because reconstruction is possible according to the UNESCO report and therefore does not threaten our stay in the same, the economic justification of investing in the existing cable cars in Žabljak is unquestionable, because 80 percent of the infrastructure accompanying the ski area has been completed (access roads, ski slopes, water supply, electricity supply, parking lots, etc."), so it is not necessary to invest tens of millions of euros for projects that, in your opinion, would improve skiing in Žabljak, in a short period of time reconstruction, it would ensure that we do not have a single lost winter tourist season, and we are witnessing the visitation of the ski resort on Žabljak during the summer tourist season, and those numbers would only increase with the modernization of the cable car. These are more than enough reasons for the advantages of building a cable car in Žabljak compared to other centers, when we talk about the economic justification of the investment", the Association announced.
They recalled that they participated in public hearings, where the Minister of Culture Aleksandar Bogdanović, the Secretary of the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism Damir Davidović and the Secretary for Cooperation with UNESCO Milica Nikolić, as well as representatives of the local self-government, announced that the reconstruction could be carried out. existing cable cars in the current capacity of the slopes in relation to the maximum number of skiers
"You want to use false information to make UNESCO, as well as the citizens of Žabljak, enemies of the development of Žabljak and enemies of Montenegro. We will not allow that and we will fight against any idea that can have a destructive effect on Durmitor and Žabljak, and you will be remembered as the government that wanted to turn mining towns into elite tourist destinations, and long-recognized tourist centers into hamlets, picnic areas, and fishing grounds," the statement said. is from the Association.
In the meantime, the Government and the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism sent a response to the letter from the Municipality of Žabljak about, as they state, "the facts that led to the impossibility of realizing two projects of setting up a new cable car to Savina Kuk and building a hotel "Chedi" on the site of the former military resort "Mediterranean ".
They called on the Municipality to "fundamentally accept the fact that the development of this area, as part of an area that enjoys international protection, must be based on strict principles of preserving the universal values of the Durmitor area, which implies that the fulfillment of the recommendations and suggestions that the state receives from the competent bodies of UNESCO must be approached responsible and consistent".
"When it comes to the construction of a new cable car at the Savin kuk site, we remind you that after the visit of UNESCO representatives to the Savin kuk ski resort and Blue Lake in Žabljak, which was also attended by representatives of the Municipality of Žabljak, the joint Advisory Mission of the IUCN World Heritage Center in regarding the world heritage property 'Durmitor National Park', submitted a report on June 17, 2020, which stated the following: '...potential large-scale construction within the property, such as water infrastructure, replacement or construction of ski lifts, infrastructure for artificial snow, earthworks, including partial removal of trees and bushes, etc., must be avoided and, in any case, notified to the UNESCO World Heritage Center for examination by the IUCN, in accordance with paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines , before making any decisions that would be difficult to reverse, and that the signatory state should ensure that the construction of new ski resorts (ski slopes, ski lifts, etc.) is not allowed in the scope of the world heritage property. This kind of construction should be expressly prohibited and clearly highlighted in the revised PPPN. The proposed expansion of the ski area would pose a serious conservation issue leading to likely direct impacts on natural habitats and visual effects. Replacing an existing ski lift can also pose a serious conservation problem if it is applied to new slopes and results in an increase in the number of skiers. In a general sense, the Mission believes that, in the conditions of climate warming and in order to ensure the effective preservation of the world heritage property, the signatory state should consider the long-term complete gradual abolition of the use of the ski slopes on Savina Kuk and to strengthen the forms of tourism in the Durmitor National Park with low negative influences. Regarding the part of the existing ski infrastructure, the Mission is of the opinion that every modernized ski-lift must work within the limits of the current carrying capacity of the already existing ski tracks", it is stated in the response to the letter from the Municipality of Žabljak sent on November 10.
The Government and the Ministry informed the Municipality that, in view of the above and the indisputable fact that any further intervention in the protected area, i.e. investment in the direction of expanding the ski infrastructure at the Savin kuk ski resort or increasing the existing capacities, would be in direct contradiction to the recommendations of UNESCO and seriously questioned the international protection enjoyed by the "Durmitor" National Park, the Government of Montenegro on November 6, 2020 made a decision to use the acquired installation of the six-seater cable car to connect other ski centers under construction, which do not have this type of restriction.
It was explained that "it is a cable car whose designed capacity exceeds the carrying capacity of the existing ski slopes, so, in addition to the irrationality of such an approach, the state would also ignore the clear guidelines from the mentioned UNESCO report that any modernization should not result in enabling the presence of a larger number of skiers".
UNESCO will not expand, but reconstruction on the same scale can
The report of the UNESCO Advisory Mission for the benefit of the World Heritage National Park "Durmitor" was submitted on June 17 to the Ambassador of Montenegro to France, Ivan Ivanišević.
In the conclusions and recommendations of the report, it is stated that "the extension of the existing cable car to the top of Savin kuk, in order to replace the outdated ski-lift at another location, would require extensive technical and construction works in a relatively untouched area, which would result in significant adverse impacts to the landscape”.
“The mission was told that this area is currently on very dangerous ski terrain that can only be used by extremely experienced skiers and therefore has marginal recreational benefits. For this reason, the mission recommends that any reconstruction of the existing ski-lifts remain in exactly the same scope and that it closely follows the existing routes, not allowing any extensions or expansions, in order to reduce the negative impacts to the greatest extent possible," the recommendations state.
How can bungalows, playgrounds and logging concessions?
We are surprised by the care and selective approach of the technical government when it comes to UNESCO's recommendations, which concern the restriction of skiers and visitors in its protection zone. If the technical government respects UNESCO's recommendations that the expected number of skiers on the existing ropeways should not be increased, why are they not respecting UNESCO's recommendations that limit the number of visitors to the Black Lake, and the recommendations are that 400 visitors can be found on the lake at one time . We witnessed that in 2019, the number of visitors to the Black Lake ranged up to several thousand at one point. Why did the caring government approve the adoption of a freak plan for the construction of bungalows, playgrounds, rafts, artificial rocks, adventure parks, terraces on the Black Lake, under strict UNESCO protection. Are these recommendations for the sustainability of world heritage? Why does the caring government give forest concessions to dubious concessionaires in the buffer zones bordering the Durmitor NP borders. We are witnessing that behind them there is desolation, discord and destroyed road infrastructure, which again the people of Žabljah have to repair from their own funds. Why is the same government deceiving serious investors who were determined to enrich the offer of Žabljak with their 5-star hotel projects, the Tourist Association stated.
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