More than 75 percent of citizens are ready to change their habits to protect the environment

More than 75 percent of Montenegrin citizens are ready to change their habits to protect the environment, and almost 70 percent of them believe that the state can successfully fulfill its obligations in this area.

This was shown by a public opinion survey on environmental protection and Chapter 27, conducted for the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Northern Development (MERS) by the Spektrum Analytics Agency during April and May, on a sample of one thousand respondents.

The author of the research, Miloš Bešić, said that Montenegro faces challenges in certain areas, especially when it comes to air pollution with fine particles.

He pointed out the importance of monitoring objective indicators of the state of the environment, in addition to citizens' attitudes, and as one of the most relevant international indicators, he singled out the Environmental Performance Index (EPI), which is developed by researchers from Yale University for 180 countries around the world.

He said that Montenegro ranks 73rd in that index, with a score of 47,7 points.

Bešić added that more than three-quarters of citizens believe that Montenegro is exposed to environmental problems.

"When it comes to the biggest environmental problems, citizens ranked illegal waste disposal and illegal landfills as the biggest problem, cited by 27,1 percent of respondents. Air pollution is in second place with 19,9 percent," said Bešić.

He said that citizens recognize these two problems as key and that public policies should be specifically focused on them.

Bešić pointed out that among the significant problems, citizens cited unplanned expansion of urban areas, pollution of rivers and other waters, inadequate municipal waste management, endangerment of natural resources, and the lack of a water purification system.

"The survey also showed that 76,5 percent of citizens are familiar with the negotiation chapters in the process of accession to the European Union (EU), while 69,3 percent have heard of Chapter 27, which relates to the environment and climate change," said Bešić.

As he stated, when it comes to information about the EU accession process, around 40 percent of respondents believe they are informed, while approximately the same percentage say they are not sufficiently informed.

Bešić said that the vast majority of citizens believe that environmental protection issues are important for the European integration process, and that more than 70 percent of respondents support Montenegro's alignment with EU standards in that area.

He stated that 60 percent of citizens would support harmonization with European standards even if it would lead to increased costs for citizens and the economy.

Bešić said that almost 70 percent of citizens believe that Montenegro can successfully fulfill its environmental protection obligations in the EU accession process.

"When asked what benefits would come from closing the environmental chapter, respondents ranked the improvement of citizens' health first. They also cited Montenegro's rapprochement with the European Union, improving the quality of life, developing tourism and attracting investment as significant benefits," said Bešić.

The research also showed a high level of citizens' declarative willingness to personally contribute to environmental protection.

"76,2 percent of them stated that they were ready to change their habits to protect the environment," Bešić specified.

He said that such questions often contain an element of socially desirable answers, but that the result shows that citizens recognize the need for behavioral change and the importance of personal contribution.

Speaking about trust in institutions that implement environmental protection policies, Bešić stated that citizens have the greatest trust in non-governmental organizations that deal with environmental protection, which are trusted by 49,9 percent of respondents.

"This is followed by local governments with 40,4 percent trust, the Ministry of Ecology with 37,4 percent and the Government of Montenegro with 36,4 percent," said Bešić.

As he said, there is a broader problem of declining trust in institutions, which is not only present in Montenegro, but also throughout Europe.

"Trust is hard to build and easy to lose. Institutions can increase it through results, transparency, accountability and continuous communication with citizens," said Bešić.

When asked whether the Ministry of Ecology will successfully close the chapters related to the environment, he said that 42,7 percent of respondents answered in the affirmative, while 22,7 percent could not assess.

"The survey also showed that two-thirds of citizens believe that Montenegro's membership in the European Union would contribute to improving environmental protection," said Bešić.

He emphasized that the environmental awareness of citizens is at a high level, that citizens recognize the importance of environmental protection for European integration and that they are ready to support reforms and contribute to the achievement of these goals through personal engagement.

Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Northern Development Damjan Ćulafić explained that the goal was to take a look at the real situation at a time when intensive work is being done to raise awareness among the population and close Chapter 27.

"The data is encouraging in many ways, although there are areas where the results are not so good. They will serve as a basis for us to create some state policies in a different way in the future. I believe that we have acted methodologically correctly and that we have credible and serious research from which we will learn a lot," said Ćulafić, reported PR Center.

He announced that tomorrow, at the Government session, the Draft Law on Air Protection will be determined, which will be presented to the public at a press conference.

Speaking about the obligations from Chapter 27, Ćulafić said that the Ministry still has two more laws to be approved by the Government – ​​the Law on Waste Management and the Law on Nature Protection.

"In this way, we would bring the activities in the area of ​​harmonisation with the European acquis to an end. We are counting down the minutes until the chapter is closed and I think that in the period from today until the end of June we must be maximally focused on this work," said Ćulafić and appealed to political actors, the non-governmental sector, the media and citizens to get involved in this process.

He stressed that he was pleased with the data that more than 40 percent of citizens believe that MERS can close Chapter 27.

"Considering the turbulence that has been present in Montenegrin society and administration in recent years, I believe that citizens' trust in institutions is not at a low level," said Ćulafić.

He assessed that the results represent a good indicator of citizens' perception of key environmental problems in Montenegro.

As he stated, it is particularly significant that citizens recognize air pollution as one of the biggest problems.

"This means that the new Air Protection Law, which we have established and which, I hope, will be adopted very soon, is needed by citizens. Sometimes it seems that not enough attention is paid to the adoption of the law, but we see how important citizens perceive this topic," said Ćulafić.

He pointed out that the research results show a match between the priorities recognized by citizens and the activities implemented by the Ministry.

"Citizens see illegal landfills and illegal waste disposal as the biggest environmental problem in Montenegro. That is why I am very satisfied with the activities we have carried out so far, especially considering yesterday's action in Tivat, which we carried out together with the Ministry of Defense and the Army of Montenegro," the minister said.

Ćulafić reminded that 103 illegal landfills have been removed so far and said that they continue to work on this problem, especially through the campaign we are implementing with the support of the EU Delegation to Montenegro.

He also pointed out that citizens rank unplanned construction among their biggest problems.

"This does not mean that citizens or institutions believe that urban areas should not be built and developed. On the contrary, development is necessary, but it is important that it takes place in a planned and sustainable manner," said Ćulafić.

He announced that the Government should adopt the Natura 2000 ecological network within the next ten days.

"I believe that it will contribute to better spatial planning and the development of so-called green infrastructure, but in a sustainable and planned manner," said Ćulafić.