The Environmental Protection Agency has initiated liability proceedings for damage caused by the illegal cutting of spruce trees in the Durmitor National Park (NP) in Žabljak.
As stated in the announcement, acting on the application of the non-governmental organization Coalition for Sustainable Development submitted on Monday, the Director of the Agency Milan Gazdić and his colleagues visited the location where illegal logging took place on Wednesday.
"On that occasion, in the second zone of NP Durmitor, damage to the environment was noted, where it was determined that between 60 and 70 trees were cut this year alone, and about 120 cut trees from previous years were also recorded," the Agency's statement says.
It is stated that all the trees are without tags and remittances, which, it is added, means that it is an illegal felling.
The Agency said that the situation is not calming down and that this case, unfortunately, is not an isolated one and is not the first time it has happened in Montenegro.
"Such cases of forest devastation in the protected area are increasing every year," the statement added.
The Agency reminded that they had a similar situation in September last year, when 248 cubic meters of timber forests were cut down.
It is stated that a meeting was held with the director of NP Durmitor, Pero Popović, where they discussed these negative phenomena in the protected natural resource, and the urgent interventions that must be undertaken as soon as possible.
Gazdić said that the Agency, in accordance with its competences, will file a criminal complaint against the perpetrators and initiate the procedure for assessing the damage to the environment.
According to reports, he pointed out that there is a source of infection in the devastated area and that a large number of trees have dried up, due to the bark beetle spreading from the attacked trees and causing enormous damage.
According to Gazdić, all of this represents suitable ground for forest fires, considering that a huge amount of dry material was left behind.
"The agency, in accordance with its powers and the Law on Environmental Damage, initiated the procedure of liability for environmental damage, where NP Durmitor was recognized as the operator," the statement says.
The Agency said that during the implementation of the relevant procedure, they will undertake all additional activities with the aim of preventing further devastation of that protected area.
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