Although five years have passed since the declaration of the Rijeka Zeta Nature Park (PP), the Municipality of Danilovgrad has not taken legal obligations and established an effective system for the protection of this area.
Even the new leadership of Danilovgrad, headed by the Europe Now Movement (PES), which came to power at the end of 2022, did not undertake anything in this field. Moreover, earlier this year they asked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, hereinafter referred to as the Agency) to change the boundaries of the protected area.
The Agency, which in 2019 determined the scope of the protected territory in the Protection Study of PP Rijeka Zeta, rejected the request for revision of the borders, they confirmed for Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG) from that organ.
As they explain, border changes would be illegal.
"Legal regulations provide that the audit of the protected area is only started if there have been changes in the state of the environment. This body is not aware that this happened", said the Agency for CIN-CG.
The Municipality of Danilovgrad did not respond to CIN-CG's questions about why they proposed changing the borders of the protected area.
"Everything points to the fact that it is lobbying by people from the municipality in favor of investors who are interested in building buildings on protected land," the ecologist and biologist explains to CIN-CG. Vuk Iković, councilor of the Turn movement in the Municipal Assembly (SO) of Danilovgrad.
At the sessions of SO Danilovgrad, proposals for the abolition of PP Rijeka Zeta could be heard, which came from the President of the Municipality Aleksandar Grgurović, but also other councilors.
Last year, a petition was launched to abolish PP Rijeka Zeta, but it was not signed by a sufficient number of people.
Iković points out that he is convinced that an interest group from the municipality's management is behind the initiative.
"The actions of individuals from the municipal government represent an abuse of power, because border changes would only serve the interests of individuals," said Iković.
PP Rijeka Zeta was declared a nature park due to its environmental and biological characteristics. It has a rich biodiversity, and many species are protected.
The municipality of Danilovgrad ignores the duty of protection
After the Parliament of Montenegro adopted a decision on the declaration of PP Rijeka Zeta at the end of 2019, the Municipality of Danilovgrad was obliged to establish a company for the management of the park within six months, and three months after that to adopt a management plan. However, none of that has happened yet.
Thus, the Municipality of Danilovgrad has been violating the Law on Nature Protection for almost five years, and the area is under threat from various types of devastation: urbanization, polluted industrial water, garbage.
"The only way out of the situation is for the Municipality of Danilovgrad to realize that it is located in one of the most important areas of biodiversity in the entire country and to finally start applying the legal obligations of protection," said the Agency.
This municipality, on the other hand, claims that the management plan has not yet been adopted due to the complexity of the procedure.
"Before adopting the plan, it is necessary to establish a company that will manage the park. We are working on creating the necessary conditions for that, after which the Plan will be drawn up", said the PR service of the Municipality of Danilovgrad for CIN-CG.
Iković explains that a team of scientists submitted a Management Plan Proposal to the Municipality of Danilovgrad two years ago.
"The international organization The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has financed several research projects related to the Zeta River, as well as the development of the Management Plan Proposal for the Nature Park. This document is gathering dust in the mayor's office," says Ikovic, who as a biologist was part of the team that worked on the plan proposal.
"PP Rijeka Zeta was declared a protected area exclusively in order to raise the quality of life in the Municipality of Danilovgrad, to protect internationally important habitats and so that the entire municipality would benefit from this protection," the Agency says.
As they point out, there is no justification for not having a management structure even after five years.
The Agency highlights the positive example of the Municipality of Podgorica, which, to a lesser extent, is also responsible for the management of the PP Rijeka Zeta.
"They managed to establish a certain management structure and protection system," the Agency explains.
Out of 80 protected areas in Montenegro, only 22 are protected according to all legal protection procedures, according to the "Analysis of shortcomings of the existing policy and practice related to the management of protected areas", which was carried out last year by Dinarida Parks and TNC.
Only 53 protected areas have a management body, and only eight have a valid management plan, according to the Analysis.
Contradictory plans are fertile ground for malfeasance
The Municipality of Danilovgrad did not harmonize the Decision on Proclamation of PP Rijeka Zeta with the Spatial-Urban Plan (PUP) of the municipality. The consequence of this is that it is not known what the exact boundaries of the park are, so it is not known which buildings are allowed to be built and where.
It is particularly complicated that the second and third protection zones are not clearly defined, because the construction of residential and commercial buildings is not allowed in the second zone, while it is allowed in the third.
However, the Municipality of Danilovgrad claims that they are not responsible for the problem of documents that they declared themselves.
"The Environmental Protection Agency is responsible for the technical and professional correction of errors in overlapping zones," they told CIN-CG.
The Agency, on the other hand, says that the boundaries of the protected area were clearly defined in 2019 and that they must be respected as such. Then thousands of plots were put under protection.
"In 2019, the Administration for Cadastre and State Property provided the Municipality of Danilovgrad with a list of parcels located within the protected area," the Agency states.
"It is necessary that the PUP be harmonized with the Decision of PP Rijeka Zeta, as it was done in Podgorica", Iković points out.
There was a similar problem in the Podgorica part of the park, he explains.
"The Podgorica part of the PP Rijeka Zeta was also not in accordance with the PUP of the capital city. That's why a decision was made that invalidates the part of the PUP that refers to protected zones", says Iković.
The consequences can be serious
While the Municipality of Danilovgrad avoids establishing a protection regime, pollution, illegal construction, waste disposal, and poaching are flourishing in the PP Rijeka Zeta, explains Iković.
"Illegal urbanization threatens the sustainability of the PP Rijeka Zeta ecosystem, because it leads to the destruction of the habitats of animal and plant species," says Iković.
Unplanned, scattered construction is a particular problem.
"In that case, the road, water supply network, electricity and sewage network are brought anew for each building, which is a negative pressure for habitats and agriculture", Iković points out.
"Given that the boundaries of the park have not yet been marked on the ground, nor are they in the cadastral register, there is no list of illegally built buildings by zone within the Nature Park," the Secretariat for Urban Planning of Danilovgrad Municipality told CIN-CG.
They said that they do not even have a list of the owners of plots in the protected zones of the park.
The Basic Court in Danilovgrad confirmed for CIN-CG that from 2020 until today "there have been no cases filed regarding illegal construction, illegal dumping of construction waste, nor environmental pollution with waste in PP Rijeka Zeta".
Due to the lack of a management plan, it is not even known which buildings are allowed for construction. So, for example, according to the Decision on Proclamation, in the second protection zone, the construction of tourist infrastructure "which serves the purpose of preserving nature" is allowed. However, the Municipality of Danilovgrad explains that only the management plan will define exactly what will fall under such infrastructure. Until then, this clause was left to the free interpretation of plot owners.
The management plan should legally contain a detailed protection strategy - long-term goals of protection and sustainable development, measures of protection, conservation, management, improvement and use of protected areas... Without this document, it is impossible to approach protection in an organized manner.
The potential for organic agriculture is not used
The protection study of PP Rijeka Zeta envisages that a large part of the surface will be protected as bio-agricultural land, which will contribute to organic cultivation, but also to tourism. However, this land is currently being converted into construction land, warns the Agency.
Almost half of the area of PP is fertile agricultural land, according to the socio-economic study of PP Rijeka Zeta, prepared by the Agency in 2021. Of the other areas, the most significant are forests, which occupy 32 percent, while settlements occupy only about 14 percent. In recent years, the volume of agricultural production has been declining, while construction is expanding, according to the Study.
The PP Rijeka Zeta project is in line with the European Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, which envisages the transition from a traditional model to a sustainable economy.
By signing the Declaration on the Green Agenda in 2020, the countries of the Western Balkans undertook to implement measures in the field of climate change and pollution prevention, energy development, transport and circular economy, as well as the development of biodiversity, sustainable agriculture and food production.
Neither the Municipality of Danilovgrad, nor the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management (MAFSV) answered the question of CIN-CG whether they plan subsidies for the development of agriculture in PP Rijeka Zeta.
Iković explains that agricultural households need the support of competent authorities.
"Private owners who have valuable land in the protected zone are generally not stimulated to engage in agriculture. This would require large investments, and it is usually possible to make money from agriculture only after three to five years. That's why citizens prefer to sell their land," says Iković.
In Danilovgrad, the number of rural households oriented towards rural tourism is growing, and the number of people interested in camping and water sports is increasing, says Iković.
"These activities are a development opportunity for Danilovgrad. It is up to us to use the resources and increase the value of our plain and the Zeta River," says Iković.
The still unresolved problem of wastewater
One of the most significant problems in the area of PP Rijeka Zeta has been waste water for years, especially from industrial production facilities.
In order to operate in a nature park, producers must have the necessary environmental approvals.
The pig farm in Spuž does not yet have consent to the studies on environmental impact assessment, while the "Primato P" slaughterhouse received a decision that the preparation of this study is not necessary, they confirmed for CIN-CG from the Municipality of Danilovgrad.
According to the claims of ecologists and experts, "Primato P" is one of the biggest polluters of the Zeta River.
"The spillage of waste water from production plants has a negative effect on water quality and threatens not only biodiversity, but also the population. Industrial waters contain various chemical pollutants. Mandatory installation of filters for wastewater treatment is one of the protection mechanisms", explains Iković.
The guidelines for the implementation of the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans consider waste water spillage as one of the biggest problems. Investing in waste and fertilizer management and wastewater treatment plants for reuse in agriculture is one of the important recommendations.
The socio-economic analysis of PP Rijeka Zeta, carried out by the Agency, recognizes the presence of endemic soft-mouth trout, as well as other endemic, rare and endangered protected species, as the main values of this area. The park has a great diversity of habitats, among which is Natura 2000, but also other important habitats for certain species that are protected by the laws of the European Union.
Park in front of the Constitutional Court
In March of this year, a lawyer from Podgorica submitted an appeal to the Constitutional Court of Montenegro for a review of the constitutionality of the declaration of the PP Rijeka Zeta, they confirmed for CIN-CG from that court, but did not want to give more information because, as they state, the case has yet to be heard. solves.
The Environmental Protection Agency claims that during the promulgation of the Rijeka Zeta PP, all legal procedures regarding informing citizens were followed, and that there were no large number of objections.
"After the public hearing, the Agency received only ten comments and none of them were of essential importance. Mostly, citizens submitted comments about waste disposal sites and the like, that is, about factors that do not affect the declaration of PP Rijeka Zeta and the boundaries of the protected area", the Agency stated.
"When, five years ago, the Parliament of Montenegro adopted the Decision on the declaration of PP Rijeka Zeta, everyone was aware that this implies a new management model, not only for the environment but also for the economy. Even then, it was known that the declaration of this park would open a new model of land use in the nature park", says Vuk Iković.
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