Montenegro adopted the first National ICZM Strategy

The first National Strategy on Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM), following the requirements of the ICZM Protocol, was adopted by the Government of Montenegro on June 25! The adoption of the Strategy was the final result of the most successful process jointly undertaken by the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism of Montenegro and PAP/RAC, in the framework of MedPartnership project.

Preparation of the ICZM Strategy for Montenegro was undertaken in parallel with the preparation of the Coastal Area Spatial Plan, the most important planning document for the coastal areas in Montenegro. Therefore, the process and the results of the Strategy were largely directed towards preparing specific recommendations for the Spatial Plan. In particular, the Strategy:

- Developed criteria and guidelines to determine land uses in the Coastal Area Spatial Plan so as to direct construction to the least vulnerable areas. They included the introduction of a coastal setback zone and preservation of valuable inland areas suitable for rural development.

− Proposed key instruments to enable implementation of the above criteria and to guide changes in the desired direction. They include land-use and fiscal policy instruments, as well as those for monitoring and evaluating progress.

− Proposed an appropriate coordination mechanism to improve integration and convergence of sectoral management, with the overall responsibility for the coastal zone development.

With strong political support and commitment, these findings and the overall participatory process of the Strategy preparation resulted with:

− construction areas reduced by 44%;

− construction areas within one kilometre of the coastline reduced by 16%;

− introduced 100-meter coastal setback, applicable to almost 50% of the coastline; and

− initiated establishment of an ICZM coordination mechanism.

PAP/RAC wishes to thank the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism, in particular HE Minister, Mr. Branimir Gvozdenovic, and the National Coordinator, Ms Jelena Knezevic, for their great support. This process would not have been nearly so successful without them.