The residents of Bliškovo and Kovren completely agree that the area of the source and part of the Ćehotina river should be declared a protected area, but that a collector with treatment plants must first be built because all sewage drains from houses and barns lead into that river.
They said they hope that the protection will put an end to decades of neglect of that part of the municipality.
The locals said this at a public hearing, organized after the Municipality prepared the Draft Decision on the proclamation of a protected area in the category of a natural monument of the upper reaches of the Ćehotina River, as well as the Protection Study.
Milka Rajović Mitrović from the Environmental Protection Agency stated that by protecting the area, all the problems that the locals have highlighted, from deforestation to waste problems, will be eliminated, and they will be able to build weekend villages and all those facilities that are in accordance with existing laws.
"After the protected area is declared, a five-year management plan is developed, which lists all the activities that will be implemented, and the management structure will include people from those places, who will propose what is a priority to do in that area," she said.
So far, the Đalovića Gorge has been declared a protected area in Bijelo Polje as a natural monument, and the upper reaches of the Ćehotina River will be the second protected area, after the Environmental Protection Agency conducted a study. The management of all protected areas in the territory of the Bijelo Polje municipality is the responsibility of the Bijelo Polje Municipality Agency for the Management of Natural Resources, which was established at the end of last year.
Mile Kljajević said that in his 80 years of memory, no one has ever invested in that area, whose roads were destroyed by concessionaires through reckless logging.
"The school and the ambulance are closed, the locals are without basic living conditions, the bridge on the Ćehotina River is closed and we cannot reach our homes normally," said Kljajević.
He, like other locals, liked the idea that they would be able to keep the fishponds in that place, to build watermills in the places where they had previously been, as well as other facilities in accordance with the law.
Branko Kljajević, whose house is located at the source in the future protected area, pointed out the fact that the authorities had not taken into account in advance that the Ćehotina river was a polluted river.
"That's why it's necessary to build collectors so that the area can truly be protected," he said.
Municipal Secretary of the Secretariat for Rural and Sustainable Development Armin Sijarić said that this is one of the most valuable natural resources. He said that all interested parties can submit their comments, suggestions and comments on the draft Decision and the content of the Protection Study within the next 20 days, by mail or electronically.
"The Ćehotina is the northernmost river in Montenegro, with a total length of about 125 kilometers, of which 95 kilometers belong to Montenegro. It is a right tributary of the Drina River in the town of Foča (BIH). It rises below the Stožer mountain at an altitude of 945 meters. The area is located in the municipality of Bijelo Polje, in the western part of the municipality on the border with the municipality of Pljevlja. It includes the source Glava Ćehotina and the upper course of 6,5 kilometers in the municipality of Bijelo Polje on part of the territory of the village of Bliškovo," the Study states.
In the immediate vicinity, in the village of Bliškovo, there are also dry caves Dera, Gornja Dera, Sileva pećina, and the Ćehotina spring is located at the bottom of Stožer mountain, surrounded by Stožer katuns, once places for raising cattle herders in the summer, today with potential for the development of excursion tourism. On the very border of the protected area is the Bliškovo monastery. At a distance of 21 kilometers is the Zlateš monastery, and at 28 kilometers are the remains of the medieval Sokolac monastery. In the wider vicinity of the protected area there are also archaeological sites from the prehistoric period.
The area completes the overall protection of the upper reaches of the Ćehotina River, not only in the territory of the municipality of Bijelo Polje, but also in the territory of the municipality of Pljevlja, whose protection procedure is in the final phase. Otilovićko Lake was created 35 years ago for the needs of the Pljevlja Thermal Power Plant, but the water from the reservoir is also used for the city's water supply, which is all the more reason to protect the upper reaches of the Ćehotina River, which would also be a sanitary protection zone for the water intake.
"The greatest recognition of the upper reaches of the Ćehotina, in addition to the meanders, is the source of the Ćehotina itself under the rock at the foot of Stožer. Other values of this area are preserved biodiversity, cultural and historical monuments, authentic rural architecture, preserved forest complexes, the Ćehotina river itself, which is suitable for the development of sport fishing, as well as the hospitality of the rural population."
The total length of the protection belt, as planned, would be 40,06 hectares, and the total area of the protection belt would be 528,62 hectares.
Prohibited activities under the Level II protection regime would be: fishing for five years for the recovery of the brown trout population, aquaculture, installation or construction of facilities, change of land use, dispersal, capture, disturbance and killing of animal and plant species, settlement of non-native and invasive species, hunting, uncontrolled logging without a permit, undertaking work that could lead to damage to species and habitats, accidental or intentional disposal or discarding of any waste, damage to geological and geomorphological values, depletion of the natural fund of wild species and pollution or endangerment of the river.
It is prohibited to construct facilities that pollute groundwater and surface water with their wastewater or whose purification system efficiency is below legally prescribed standards and quality parameters, construct facilities and carry out operations, activities and businesses that discharge wastewater without purification into the underground (septic tanks and wells), construct sawmills...
The participants in the discussion emphasized that the protection of Ćehotina is related to the development projects of the Đalovići Gorge and Bjelasica, based on sustainable tourism, which, along with agriculture, is one of the most important sectors for the development of the Bijelo Polje municipality.
A well-known speleologist and recently acting director of the Agency for the Management of Protected Natural Resources of the Municipality of Bijelo Polje, Željko Madžgalj, said that this body will focus its work on the protection, development and promotion of protected areas, based primarily on the long-term Management Plan that has yet to be adopted.
Recalling that the Đalovića Gorge area has so far been protected as a natural monument, he pointed out that one of the Agency's priority tasks in future work is to establish a model of cooperation with the local population that lives or gravitates to the protected area, which also applies to the Ćehotina area.
"Protected areas and nature parks should take steps towards forming Protected Areas Councils as participatory bodies, in order to ensure broader involvement and better cooperation with local communities and other stakeholders. Local communities can improve the conservation and sustainable use of resources through active involvement in all phases of protected area management. Key activities include joint planning, advisory bodies, participatory monitoring, education and benefit sharing," said Madžgalj, explaining that the essence is that a protected area does not represent an obstacle to sustainable use and development, and that life next to or in a protected area is a benefit and an opportunity for development.
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