Today, the Environmental Protection Agency promoted the publication "Red List of Birds of Montenegro", by Darko Saveljić, Bojan Zeković, Marija Šoškić Popović, Nikola Novović and Jovana Drobnjak.
The director of the Agency, Milan Gazdic, said that the creation of biodiversity red lists has been a legal obligation in Montenegro since 2008, and that the National Strategy for Biodiversity with an Action Plan from 2010 is imposed as a priority for the work of state authorities.
"The red lists should become guidelines for investments in nature protection, because they tell us exactly which species are and how endangered they are, and for which species we do not have enough data to be able to categorize them according to their vulnerability. Also, the red list of birds should be an incentive to all colleagues from other areas of biodiversity to approach its preparation, which the Agency will work on in the future," Gazdić said
He believes that the red lists represent the pinnacle of the career of every scientific worker and expert in this field.
"It is a legacy that we leave to future generations of biologists and ecologists, a document that will be the basis of nature protection".
On the basis of the red lists, the Agency prepares a red book, which contains protection measures and measures to improve the status of endangered species, the method of handling and the area of distribution of protected wild species of plants, animals and fungi, and measures to protect their habitats.
The Minister of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism, Ana Novaković Đurović, said that she was pleased with the fact that the first step towards the long-awaited goal has been taken, which is the initiation of institutional protection of birds that, according to international criteria, are endangered or even threatened with extinction.
"I must emphasize that this is the first red list that has ever been brought in Montenegro. Red lists represent the initial step, as I said, and precede the final goal, which is the preparation of a red book, i.e. scientific studies of endangered wild species of plants, animals and fungi The goal of nature protection, among other things, is to preserve species that are common, but also to prevent endangered species from disappearing, because the benefit from biological diversity is immeasurable. Considering that birds are very sensitive to changes in the environment, they represent excellent indicators of the state of our nature. All life on the planet is connected, and when birds show us that they are in danger by dying, it is a sign that we are disrupting the natural balance," said Novaković Đurović.
She stated that it is not new that the scientific world believes that the planet has entered the sixth mass extinction and that the rate of disappearance of species is up to a thousand times higher compared to the average of the last 10 million years.
"Thus, by establishing the first red list of endangered bird species, our country receives an extremely important instrument that will enable the assessment of the species' threat, on the basis of which activities could be undertaken to prevent its disappearance. I would like to thank the expert team that worked on the preparation of the red list and on the cooperation that we only want to strengthen, because only with a team approach can we lead to the successful realization of the set goals".
The minister said that we have no more time to wait, "because we are aware of the pressures that threaten habitats and thus the survival of species. That's why I want to conclude my presentation by stating that today we have taken an important step, although we have an even bigger and more challenging step ahead of us, but I believe it is achievable" .
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