The government adopted the nomination of the ancient beech forests of the Biogradska gora National Park for the UNESCO list

At today's session, the Government adopted the Information on the nomination of ancient beech forests of the Biogradska gora National Park for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The UNESCO World Heritage List has included European beech forests, protected as "Intact Beech Forests of the Carpathians" (Ukraine and Slovakia) since 2007. After two extensions, in 2011 and 2017, this World Natural Heritage site now includes 93 areas located in 18 European countries: Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and Ukraine.

"The third expansion, which was initiated by a call for new extensions by Switzerland at the session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in 2017, and by the expression of interest of the Montenegrin delegation to participate in the process, began with preparatory activities for the preparation of the Tentative List, and later the Nomination Dossier. On that occasion, the Biogradska Gora National Park was recognized as the most important natural asset of Montenegro that has all the necessary values ​​and meets the candidacy propositions, and was nominated within this process in order to form a large serial UNESCO World Heritage Site in Europe, with the aim of protecting the beech forest ecosystem," the Information states.

This nomination is an expansion of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Primordial Beech Forests and Native Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe" and includes the re-nomination of sites that were included in the last nomination for expansion in 2021. As explained, in Decision 44 COM 8B.32 UNESCO recommended several sites for potential re-nomination and recommended certain actions that States should take before considering re-nomination of these sites.

Montenegro has joined the international nomination entitled "Ancient and Intact Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe" for UNESCO status. As a prerequisite, its Tentative List of Natural and Cultural Properties has been accepted and confirmed, and the documentation has been forwarded to the UNESCO Centre. Due to changes in the nomination procedure, it was necessary to prepare and submit a new application form/nomination dossier, which was successfully completed. In this phase of the re-submission, in addition to Montenegro, Italy, France and Serbia are participating.

"The aforementioned obligation has been fulfilled. Four countries are participating in this re-submission phase: Italy, France, Montenegro and Serbia, in addition to the nomination of the Ancient and Intact Beech Forests of the Carpathians and other regions of Europe. The finalization of the joint nomination dossier, which is being prepared for all participating countries within the last call, is expected to be completed and submitted no later than the end of January 2026," the material for today's Government session states.

The nomination dossier for the UNESCO World Heritage List is a key document that proves the "outstanding universal value" of the property (integrity, authenticity) and contains a detailed description, justification, state of conservation, protection and management. It is signed by authorized persons of the Contracting State.

Montenegro is submitting an extension of the nomination "Primordial beech forests and native beech forests of the Carpathians and other regions of Europe" for the natural asset in the Biogradska gora National Park. The aim is to protect beech forests, important for understanding the evolution of the genus Fagus and post-glacial colonization, which are globally important due to intact ecological processes and genetic resources. The nomination is made under criterion IX, which refers to significant biological and ecological processes.

The rainforest in the Biogradska gora National Park (5.959,97 ha), located in the Bjelasica massif, is one of the last virgin beech forests in Europe. Based on the 2023 Revision Study, changes to the boundaries and protection regime within the park have been proposed to strengthen the conservation of the rainforest and other values. The core zone (strict protection) includes the rainforest reserve (2.352,33 ha) in the Biogradska River and Lake basin. The access road to Biogradsko Lake and the lake itself are, for tourism purposes and infrastructure, excluded from the core zone and included in a buffer subzone with a width of 100 m. Some areas have been raised to a higher level of protection, with a recommendation to preserve traditional agriculture. The total area of ​​the proposed UNESCO area with protection zones is 5.959,97 ha, with Zones II and III of the park forming a contact protection zone of 3.607,64 ha.

After the submission of the nomination file, there is an evaluation phase by the relevant UNESCO bodies, whose recommendations are forwarded to the World Heritage Committee for a final decision.