It is my special honor and pleasure to welcome you to the celebration of 25 years of work and impact of
the NGO Green Home. Green Home was founded on February 14, 2000 and has been running for 25
years.

25 years is a long time in the life of any person, and especially of an organization. We have been through
a lot, but we have remained persistent and unwavering in achieving the goal that was set when the
organization was founded, which is to protect the environment, preserve natural resources and
implement the concept of sustainable development. Today, when we look back and look at what we did
and did in the previous period, which is only partly evidenced by the photographs on display, we feel
great satisfaction and pride. What we are particularly proud of is the campaign for the preservation of
the Tara River, which resulted in the adoption of a declaration on the protection of the Tara River in the
Parliament of Montenegro in 2004, as well as the preservation of the Morača River, by abandoning the
construction of cascading hydroelectric power plants after the 2010 campaign “Sense in the head, then
remedial”.

No less valuable were the activities to initiate and support decision-makers in the establishment of new
protected areas in Montenegro, such as the Prokletije National Park, the nature monument of the
Cijevna river canyon, the Katič nature park protected marine area, and others, as well as providing
support to managers in their protection. During these activities, we managed to mobilize a large number
of friends of nature, NGOs, colleagues from the region, as well as UN and EC institutions, and ultimately
succeeded in what at the beginning seemed like an impossible mission: the preservation of Tara, Morača
and the establishment of new protected areas. We succeeded thanks to great enthusiasm,
perseverance, mobilizing public opinion, creative actions, with the help of our friends from the region,
Europe and the world and showed that when something is wanted, it can be achieved.
As another value in the work and activities of the organization, I would mention the democratic
procedures that we implemented in our organization. Namely, I am the 4th executive director since the
founding of the NGO Green Home. Each of my predecessors brought a part of themselves into this
organization, built it with their vision, strengthened its capacities and ultimately contributed to the
sustainability of the organization that we are witnessing today.

I want to take this opportunity to thank all those who used to work at Green Home NGO and helped it to
be stronger and better. During these 25 years, a large number of people spent a part of their career
working in this organization, and later continued their involvement in many institutions and
organizations. Among them are several executive directors of environmental organizations in
Montenegro, employees of the state administration, media and international organizations, workers in
political and public life, but also the director and president of the management board of the national
parks of Montenegro in the earlier period. Our mission is that by strengthening others, we strengthen
ourselves and expand the network of environmental protection friends.
Today, Green Home with 7 employees, 17 associates, membership in numerous networks at the
national, regional and international level, such as SeeNet, Env.net, Bio-net, and numerous others, has a
partnership with over 100 organizations from all countries of the Western Balkans region as well as
member states of the European Union.

I would especially like to point out the fact that we are the initiators of Coalition 27, which brings
together 18 organizations in Montenegro and deals with monitoring the fulfillment of Montenegro’s
obligations in Chapter 27 in the process of European integration.
Dear Friends,
Today, the issue of environmental protection is topical, as never before. Today, environmental
protection is not only seen through the prism of nature conservation, but also as a matter of people’s
health, rule of law, democracy, economy, protection of human and minority rights, but also the fight
against corruption and organized crime.

There is no area that permeates all of the above as the issue of environmental protection. If we add to
that that chapter 27 is one of the most demanding in the process of accession to the European Union,
then it becomes clear how important this area is for the state of Montenegro and its future. The NGO
Green Home is firmly committed to the implementation of European environmental standards. By
applying these standards, the air in our cities, which is at an alarmingly high level of pollution, will be
cleaner; our rivers, lakes and seas, into which today’s waste water is poured without prior treatment,
will become cleaner, the food we produce and consume will be healthier, and ultimately we will have a
healthier environment and preserved people’s health.

That’s why I would like to invite everyone from today’s gathering, representatives of the governmental
and non-governmental sector, as well as international organizations, to work together to meet these
standards because Montenegro has no time to wait. We are waiting too long to have a cleaner and
therefore healthier living environment. The standards must finally be applied in practice without further
prolongation. We are aware of the limits in the capacity of decision-makers, that is why we believe that
the field of environment should bring together all organizations, institutions, but also all other
individuals, regardless of their national or political commitment.
Only together, with the association of all the capacities that exist in this country, we can and must
achieve success in the implementation of European Union standards in the field of environment.