On Thursday (February 29th, 2024), NGO Green Home and NGO Society of Young Environmentalists Nikšić organized a panel discussion on the topic: Nature protection and challenges in forest exploitation.
The discussion covered current topics when it comes to forest management in nature parks, as well as numerous problems that are being tried to be overcome by the adoption of the new Law on Forests and the Law on Nature Protection.
One panel is dedicated to the topic of forest management in nature parks, where the topic of problems in the management and use of forests in this area was discussed on the example of forest exploitation in Komovi nature park on the example of Opasanica, based on a prepared case study.
The panelists in this area were Tamara Brajović in front of the Ministry of Tourism, Ecology, Sustainable Development and Development of the North, Vitomir Tepavčević, in front of the Forestry Administration, Jasna Gajević, director of the Agency for Protected Areas of Podgorica, and Azra Vuković, executive director of the NGO Green Home.
Among the main problems are the competences when it comes to the management of nature parks, the inadequate implementation of planning documents related to the economic units of these areas, with special emphasis on privately owned forests.
The second panel is dedicated to the degree of compliance of policies in Montenegro with EU policies when it comes to the forestry sector, which was also addressed through a case study.
The panelists of this panel were Ranko Kankaraš, on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, Franz Ferlin, an expert in the field of forestry, and Dragan Roganović, on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency.
As part of this discussion, information could be heard on how much Montenegro has adapted its legislation to EU requirements and how much the new Law on Forests, which is in the process of being adopted, will contribute to a better state of forests in Montenegro. Also, the need for greater monitoring of law enforcement was highlighted.
The mentioned studies will soon be available on the websites of the NGO Green Home and the Society of Young Environmentalists of Nikšić.
The panel discussion “Nature protection, challenges in forest exploitation and dynamics in reaching standards” was organized within the project Enhancing the CSO Environmental Engagement under the EU Accession framework (4E), which is implemented by: NGO Center for the Protection and Study of Birds (lead partner), NGO Green Home, NGO Society of Young Ecologists and NGO Northern Earth, and which is financed by the European Union, and co-financed by the Ministry of Public Administration of Montenegro.
NGO Green Home
NGO Society of Young Environmentalists of Nikšić
