Montenegro's Centre for Sustainable Development to begin operation on 1 January 2014

Podgorica, Montenegro (13 December 2013) -- Minister of Tourism and Sustainable Development Branimir Gvozdenović and UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative to Montenegro Rastislav Vrbensky signed earlier today the Memorandum on the Establishment of the Centre for Sustainable Development. The establishment of the centre in Montenegro, as an independent institution, which would gradually acquire a regional character, was initiated several years ago and the signing of the Memorandum represents the beginning of the initiative's implementation.

The Centre’s key mission, which will begin operation on 1 January 2014, is to promote sustainable development in the context of the EU accession process. In the coming period, the Centre will, in accordance with the provisions of the Memorandum, concentrate on four specific areas: sustainable tourism, sustainable energy (including energy efficiency and renewable energy), resource management and ecosystems, and adaptation to the impacts of climate change and security in the environmental area.

The work of the Centre should focus primarily on the issues significant for Montenegro, but it should gradually expand its activities to other countries of the region with similar interests, as partners and customers. One of the major functions of the Center, as an additional link in the institutional system of sustainable development in Montenegro, is further inclusion of science in decision-making processes.

The center will initially operate as an UNDP programme, monitored by the steering committee chaired by the Minister of Sustainable Development. The Committee will also include Foreign and Economy ministers, Advisor to the Prime Minister for foreign policy and the UNDP Resident Representative to Montenegro.