Local and international groups for the protection of the environment and human rights called on the Montenegrin government to cancel the decision on the military training ground on Sinjajevina, and on the European Union (EU) to condition Montenegro's membership on the protection and establishment of a protected area on that mountain.
This was announced by the Citizens' Initiative (GI) Save Sinjajevina, stating that more than 11 thousand citizens from all over the world have already signed their support for the protection of that mountain.
The GI said that in the heart of Montenegro, the Sinjajevin plateau is surrounded by more than 22 thousand people who live in small towns and villages.
It, they said, forms part of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve of the Tara Basin and borders two UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
"The activities of the Government of Montenegro on turning a large part of that traditional and unique pasture territory into a military training ground led local communities and civil society groups to mobilize, based on scientific research, for the defense of those very valuable pastures and crops, with the request to establish a protected an area managed by the local community," the statement said.
GI Save Sinjajevina said that several local and international groups expressed solidarity with the local population on that mountain.
The president of GI Save Sinjajevina, Milan Sekulović, pointed out that if Montenegro wants to be part of the EU, it must respect and protect European values, including the EU Green Deal, the Natura 2000 area proposed by the EU on Sinjajevina and the EU strategy on biodiversity and natural habitats .
He said that the militarization of Sinjajevina is in direct opposition to the recommendation of a study from 2016, co-financed by the EU, which supports the creation of a protected area in Sinjajevina by 2020.
"With allies around the world, GI launched a petition addressed to the EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, Oliver Varhelji, to call on the EU to influence Montenegro to abandon plans for a military training ground and open consultations with local communities to create a protected area on the mountain, as a prerequisite for Montenegro's membership in the EU", said Sekulović.
He said that, in addition to the loss of access to traditional pastures, they fear that there will be pollution, reduction of ecological and hydrological connections, damage to wild and domestic animals and biodiversity.
Persida Jovanović from the Sinjajevina family of herders said that if natural resources, traditional products and landscapes lose their value, great socio-economic damage could occur for thousands of people.
Sabine Palas of the International Land Coalition, a global network promoting people-centered land management that accepted GI Save Sinjajevina as a member last year, said Sinjajevina is not just a local issue, but a global problem.
"We are very concerned that the pastures will become inaccessible to those who have managed them sustainably for centuries and create a unique biodiversity that would disappear without them," said Palas.
As she said, securing the rights of local communities to their territories is recognized as the best strategy for protecting nature and reversing the degradation of such ecosystems.
The announcement states that all supporters of the Save Sinjajevina campaign called on the Government to immediately withdraw the decree on the creation of a military training ground and create a protected area managed by the local communities of Sinjajevina.
Clémence Abbes, coordinator of the Land Rights Now campaign, a global alliance convened by the International Land Coalition, Oxfam and the Rights and Resources Initiative, said that Sinjajevin pastoral tribes should always have the final say in what happens on their territories.
As she stated, those local communities created, managed and preserved this uniquely valuable landscape, which is increasingly rare in Europe, and they want to be at the center of efforts to preserve, promote and manage their territory.
"Instead they are now at risk of losing their land and their sustainable way of life. The EU should support land rights for local communities as part of its 2030 biodiversity strategy," she added.
Sinjajevina is the largest mountain pasture in the Balkans, a UNESCO biosphere reserve and a vital ecosystem that is home to over 22 thousand people.
The Save Sinjajevina campaign was created in 2020 to protect that unique European landscape.
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