The Administration for the Protection of Cultural Assets of Montenegro accepted the Initiative for the establishment of the protection of the cultural landscape of the Ulcinj olive grove and Valdanos bay, which was submitted by the NGO "Dr. Martin Šnajder Jakobi" (MSJA).
This was announced by that organization today.
The MSJA handed over the Initiative, along with the Study of the Cultural Landscape of the Ulcinj Olive Grove and Valdanos Bay, to the Administration on January 19.
"Based on the relevant literature, documentation and the attached Study of the Cultural Landscape of the Ulcinj Olive Grove and Valdanos Bay from 2023, it is concluded that there is no objection to recommending the property in question for further cultural and historical valorization, i.e. protection in the form of a cultural landscape," it is stated. among other things, in the explanation of the Administration, in response to the request of the Ulcinj NGO.
MSJA said that the acceptance of the initiative is "the first significant step in the procedure that should follow".
"Such as the formation of an expert team to prepare the report. We are happy that the Administration for the Protection of Cultural Property of Montenegro accepted our initiative and reacted quickly. We are on the right track for Montenegro to receive the first 'cultural landscape' with the aim of preserving this unique agricultural cultural property ", they said from MSJA.
The study submitted to the Administration for the Protection of Cultural Property on 188 pages with special maps presents in detail all the key elements of the area of the Ulcinj olive grove and Valdanos bay that have cultural heritage value.
Conservator and archaeologist Aleksandra Kapetanović, who headed the team that created the Study, previously said that the research showed that the area has the value of a cultural landscape, because it has preserved elements that testify to the centuries-old way of using the area.
"Valdanos was used as a port even in the ancient period, and there is also an olive grove that is shaped with terraced landscapes that represent a specific type of agricultural landscape. There we have those terraced olive groves with walls made of drywall, paths, fountains, drainage channels - the whole a network of elements that make that whole unique and valuable. It's incredible that building in that area is even thought of. Nothing has been built in the olive grove for centuries. It's an agricultural area that was used to grow olives that fed that population. We can build in zones which are adequate for that, but the area of the olive grove as such is extremely valuable. If we destroy it, what will be left," Kapetanović said.
In addition to this initiative, the NGO MSJA advocates for the inclusion of that area in the UNESCO list.
"It is a bit longer process, but I believe that we have support, at least as far as the profession is concerned. The Ulcinj olive grove has always been one of the most beautiful and largest olive groves in the former Yugoslavia, and for us it represents the cultural heritage of all citizens of Montenegro, and that is why it is very important that it be preserved ", the director of the NGO MSJA, Zenepa Lika, said earlier.
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