Press Release: The Plan for the Coastal Zone is a Good-quality Document

Following the statements of the Democratic Montenegro in relation to the Draft Spatial Plan for the Coastal Zone, issued on 8 February, and feeling the need to give an additional information to the public about this important document, the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism issues the following statement:

The Draft Spatial Plan for the Coastal Zone which is presently under public debate is a good-quality document, the primary objective of which is a sustainable valorization of this very important area. Underlying legal documents on which the Plan is based are the Law on Spatial Planning and Construction of Structures and the Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region, as a regulatory basis for some of the most important activities in the area of protection of the marine environment and coastal areas. The Plan is also based on a very large number of researches conducted within the framework of the Coastal Area Management Program (CAMP MN), which is also based on the Barcelona Convention.

This is why the document puts an emphasis on sustainability of construction in the coastal zone, with the aim of preserving this valuable resource, which is the common objective and the message that both competent bodies and expert institutions have been sending for years. We believe it is the implementation of the provision of the Barcelona Convention stipulating the inviolability of the coastal setback and the control of construction in the narrow coastal zone, which has been transposed in the Plan and which applies to all states signatories of the Convention, that guarantees the promotion of the above mentioned objectives of a sustainable development and valorization of the environment of Montenegro.

We believe it is also the way to promote the protection of interests of the local population, primarily in the context of an increase of value of the land they own in the coastal zone. Furthermore we underline that the Plan prohibits an expansion of residential buildings in a 1 km-wide zone from the coastline, allowing on the other hand construction of facilities for tourism purposes. This approach guarantees significant benefits both for the state and for the local population from the aspect of an increase of attractiveness and competitiveness of the tourism product, improvement of the structure and quality of accommodation, creation of new job opportunities, investments and increase of tourism consumption. It is understood that the Draft Plan does not interfere in any way with ownership rights in the coastal zone, and that “confiscation of private properties” is out of question, as it has been rumored recently in the public.

Therefore, the Draft Plan is, among other things, based on the evaluation that fractioned housing stock shall not be the basis for the development of the coastal zone. In that context, the explanation that “the construction of residential buildings has been allowed until now” cannot be a valid approach to the development of space as our most valuable resource.

Moreover, the above mentioned planning document, as stipulated by the Law, has been sent for review to 22 addresses, including the Ministry of Culture. The opinion was submitted within the given deadline and integrated into the Draft Plan, which was subsequently approved at the session of the Government of Montenegro. Pursuant to the Terms of Reference, the drafting of the Plan by the developer also included an analysis of areas protected in accordance with regulations in the field of protection of cultural properties, a detailed overview of all protected cultural properties and architectural monuments proposed for protection and an overview of rules for the protection of cultural properties. Also, drafting of the Study for Protection of Cultural Properties by the competent ministry is under way, which will serve as the basis of assessing the quality of the planning document and its compliance with the Study.

This Ministry has always been at the disposal for any additional clarification and communication regarding the activities it is involved in, as it will continue to do in the future. Therefore we invite all interested parties to submit concrete comments to the Draft Plan which is currently under public debate, to bring added value to the communication and to create a constructive discussion.