Local communities and all other interested parties see the declaration of the river Mrtvica and the upper course of the Morača as a protected area as a great opportunity for development, according to research conducted by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) Eko-tim and Natura.
The Eco-team announced that the Municipality of Kolašin is carrying out the procedure for the protection of Mrtvica and the upper course of the Morača, which was initiated by that NGO in partnership with The Nature Conservancy and with the support of the Ministry of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism.
Those rivers, as they pointed out, represent an important natural and cultural-historical heritage, which should be preserved and protected.
The NGO Eko-team stated that the research of interested parties in the area of Mrtvica and the upper reaches of the Morača River in the municipality of Kolašin was carried out with the support of the world's leading organization for nature protection, The Nature Conservancy.
The executive director of the NGO Eko-team, Milija Čabarkapa, said that they were particularly pleased with the support of the local communities for the idea of putting the river Mrtvica and the upper reaches of the Morača under protection.
As he pointed out, in order for a protected area to be sustainable and to be managed responsibly, in addition to the will and commitment of the authorities to protect it, it is necessary that it enjoys the support of the local community, but also of all other interested parties.
"One of the findings of the research is that declaring Mrtvica and part of the upper course of Morača a protected area would significantly increase the chances of connecting agriculture and tourism, affect the prevention of further population outflow and create preconditions for the economic progress of households in that area," says the announcement.
Čabarkapa said that the protection of those two rivers is a new chance for the Municipality of Kolašin, because in addition to preserving natural values, protection is also an incentive for the development of sustainable economic activities and revitalization of the area in accordance with the principles of nature protection.
"Traditional ways of using resources and land will not be prevented, but better application of existing regulations and better performance of economic activities in relation to the environment will be ensured through the management of the future protected area," said Čabarkapa.
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