We express serious and unequivocal concern regarding the public statement of the Minister of the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property, Mr. Slaven Radunović, which calls into question the status of the Natural and Cultural-Historical Area of Kotor as a site included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The reason for this statement by the minister is the conclusion from the last session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, held in Paris in July 2025, where the state of conservation of the natural and cultural-historical area of Kotor was also discussed. The Committee’s report and decisions indicate a serious deterioration of the situation, with a clear warning that continuous development pressures, inconsistent regulations and institutional deficiencies may lead to the loss of the exceptional universal value of the Kotor Area, which opens the possibility of its inclusion on the World Heritage List in danger.
In the adopted decisions of the Committee, Montenegro is expressly requested to suspend further approval of construction and development projects within the protected area and buffer zone, until all planning and institutional frameworks at the national, regional and local level are harmonized. Also, an assessment of the cumulative impact of all individual projects considered since 2023 is required, as well as the submission of a comprehensive report on the measures taken by February 2026.

We remind you that the area of Kotor, privileged by UNESCO status, is not only the cultural heritage of Montenegro, but also a WORLD HERITAGE – the heritage of all mankind. Therefore, Montenegro, as a signatory to the Convention on World Heritage, has the obligation and responsibility to preserve the goods that are on this prestigious List, as a heritage that belongs not only to the inhabitants of Boka or Montenegro, but to all of humanity.

The preservation and protection of this area of EXCEPTIONAL UNIVERSAL VALUE, which is recognized as one of the jewels at the global level, is the joint responsibility of the institutions of this country, and we must not forget that.

Due to all of the above, and in the light of international obligations and serious warnings that came from the Committee, we consider the statement of Minister Radunović, which calls into question the meaning of preserving the UNESCO World Heritage status and proposes a referendum on its retention, extremely irresponsible, inappropriate and contrary to the public interest.

We would like to remind you that the UNESCO World Heritage status is by no means an obstacle, but an international recognition of the exceptional universal value of the area of Kotor and Boka, as well as an opportunity for their preservation and development. This status brings, first of all, the protection of this important resource, but also prestige, visibility, tourist recognition, and thus concrete economic benefits. There are numerous examples of cities and regions that, through the smart use of UNESCO status, improved local development, without devastation of space.

World heritage conservation issues cannot be resolved by ad hoc referendums, but through systemic management and the involvement of the professional and civil public. Instead of creating a “development vs. UNESCO” conflict, we need the responsibility of the institutions and a serious public discussion about models of sustainable management, planning and protection within the framework of already existing international obligations.

The minister’s argument reduces the public interest to “freedom of construction”, while leaving out the right of citizens to quality space, cultural identity, heritage and preservation of ambient values, as well as the quality of life of the community. Relinquishing the UNESCO World Heritage status would mean leaving spatial planning exclusively to the logic of the market, ignoring social, cultural and ecological aspects. It is also a direct call to violate the Constitution of Montenegro, Article 9 of which stipulates that ratified international agreements have primacy over domestic legislation.
Tourism in Montenegro is based on natural and cultural resources. The loss of UNESCO status would, in addition to everything else, also mean long-term economic damage – a decrease in trust, investment and interest of serious international partners. Excessive construction can bring profit to the few in the short term, but in the long term it irreversibly destroys cultural resources – especially in tourism, culture, service activities.

Losing the status of world heritage would also bring a globally harmful reputation to Montenegro. The area of Kotor would become one of the rare examples in the world that lost its status due to negligence, which would have unfathomable consequences for the image of Montenegro as a country striving for EU membership and building a developed and responsible civil society.

Because of all the above:

We are asking for the dismissal of Minister Slaven Radunović, because we believe that at the head of the Department of Spatial Planning, Urban Planning and State Property, there should not be persons who obviously do not know much about the values of the area that we inherit and who have attitudes that directly threaten the heritage, the area, and the public interest of the citizens of Montenegro.
We invite the Government of Montenegro to clearly and unequivocally declare the importance and importance of preserving the UNESCO status of the Natural and Cultural-Historical Area of Kotor and to urgently take the necessary steps to implement the decisions of the World Heritage Committee.
We expect the institutions and authorities, at the municipal and state level, to take a serious look at the alarming state of the Natural and Cultural-Historical Area of Kotor, which was brought about solely by their inaction, and to urgently and seriously start solving the problem if we do not want to find ourselves on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

It is high time that the authorities stop repeating the mantra that construction is the same as development – this logic has led to the loss of the value of numerous spaces in Montenegro. Real development is not reflected in the number of new buildings, but in improving the quality of life, preserving cultural heritage, strengthening the community and sustainable management of natural and cultural resources. Unfortunately, many parts of Montenegro have already lost their value precisely because of uncontrolled and inadequate construction, bad buildings that were built on the basis of bad planning.

We are clearly getting messages from the industry and the international community that we are destroying the exceptional universal value of the Kotor area. It is high time that Montenegro, as a signatory state of the World Heritage Convention, reacts maturely and responsibly, because the preservation of world heritage is an obligation we have towards the heritage we inherited, towards the citizens of Montenegro and all of humanity.

Signatory/s:

EXPEDITIO Center for Sustainable Spatial Development

Society of Friends of Boke Heritage

Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG)

NGO Green Home

Center for the Protection and Study of Birds CZIP

Bike.me

Dr. Martin Schneider-Jacoby Association – MSJA

NGO Montenegrin Society of Ecologists

NGO EnvPro

Fidelity Consulting

KANA/who if not an architect

KotorArt

NGO Parkovi Dinarida – a network of protected areas of the Dinarida

NGO MogUL

Center for Women’s Rights

Jovana Marović, civil activist

Marko Begović, Univ. professor

Dina Bajramspahić, civil activist

NGO MANS

Center for Democratic Transition (CDT)

NVU Optimists

NGO Code

Mladen Ivanovic, film director

Aleksandar Dragićević, civil activist

Nataša Kovačević, civil activist

Milica Kankaraš Berber, harpist and activist

Milena Bešić, civil activist

ANIMA – Center for Women’s and Peace Education

Nikoleta Đukanović, assistant professor at the University of Montenegro

Milana Andric

Snežana Vuksanović, adviser at the Natural History Museum

NVU Tempirate Media Team

Gordana Kasom, advisor at the Environmental Protection Agency

Balša Lubarda, sociologist

NGO Prima

Branka Knežević, biologist

Association of Lawyers of Montenegro

STEGA – Strategy for a European and civil Montenegro

Igman initiative – Initiative for regional cooperation of Montenegro Above

Vasko Raičević, Faculty of Montenegrin Language and Literature

Nataša Nikolić, civil activist

Ethem Mandić, Faculty of Montenegrin Language and Literature

Tanja Pavićević, journalist

Prof. Dr. Olivera Komar, Faculty of Political Sciences

MSc Ilinka Ćetković, biologist

Jelena Brnović, MSc, biologist

Sanja Orlandić, philologist

NGO Juventas

Association of Tourist Guides of Montenegro

Prof. Dr. Miodrag Grbić

Stefan Todorović, Faculty of Montenegrin Language and Literature

Adnan Čirgić, Faculty of Montenegrin Language and Literature

Aleksandar Radoman, Faculty of Montenegrin Language and Literature

Boban Batrićević, Faculty of Montenegrin Language and Literature

Montenegrin PEN Center

Milutin Mijović, Faculty of Montenegrin Language and Literature

Zlatko Vujovic, CeMI, Center for Monitoring and Research

Spectrum Association

UL Info

European House Tivat

NGO Ipso Facto

Mr. Suzana Malidžan, museum advisor

Andrijana Marković, clinical embryologist

NGO Democratic European Initiative

Radmila Bajagić, B.Sc. lawyer, civic activist