Poachers, forest thieves and wild builders - they are a constant danger to nature and an unsolvable problem for decades, especially in protected areas such as national parks and nature parks.
"Protected areas are under pressure, maybe even never more pressure from various illegal activities, and on the other hand, support is low, capacities are insufficient, and the network of protected areas is expanding, nine new protected areas have been established since 2016," Jelena said. Marojević Galić from "Parks Dinarida".
Do you see the willingness of the Government to tackle these problems?
"Until now, we have not heard any specific reactions from the Government to all this," replies Marojević Galić.
Short news from the Government - that the Ministry of Tourism, Ecology, Sustainable Development and Northern Development has allocated 600 euros each for the supervisors of the Protection and Rescue Service at Skadar Lake, Vuk Saičić and Marko Gluščević, who were attacked on Saturday, after they tried to prevent poachers in the commission of a criminal act.
And ecologists warn that a systemic solution should be found and cite Italy and France as positive examples...
"The protection services, whatever they are called in those countries, are actually part of what we call the police or the army. Consequently, the power of the state is set differently. That a special unit modeled after Italy, a special carabinieri unit, be formed in the Ministry of the Interior which is responsible for the protection of national parks and other protected areas. This is also the case in national parks in the United States," points out Marojević Galić.
Ecologist Vuk Iković has a similar proposal...
"The state must organize a special unit at the MUP, a unit for environmental crime, within which there will be a sector for poaching. There is no cooperation between the police, the judiciary and nature guards, i.e. game wardens. In addition to the unit for poaching, a separate Directorate should be established for hunting and fishing," says Iković.
And that at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, say ecologists and add that it turned out that the problem is the whole chain - from guards in the field to the courts, because many cases are not processed or end up in court. They conclude that the protection system should be changed for the sake of future generations...
"So that the citizens also understand that something is being protected here, that something valuable is being protected..." concludes Marojević Galić.
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