Platamuni Nature Park declared the first protected marine area in Montenegro

At the press conference, Minister of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism Ratko Mitrović said that today, on Earth Day, the Montenegrin Caninet made a decision to declare the area of the Platamuni Nature Park as the first protected marine area in Montenegro. The proclamation of the first marine protected areas in Montenegro is important for further cooperation at the Mediterranean level, given the available funds and support for further research on marine biodiversity, establishing best practices for effective management and control of activities, training and capacity building, said the Minister.

Platamuni area has been identified as a potentially protected area in a number of previously adopted national strategies and planning documents.

Numerous ecological researches of this area have been conducted in previous years, which have shown that detected habitats and species require adequate protection.

Adviser from the Directorate for Nature Protection Ivana Stojanović, who was in charge of project implementation on behalf of the Ministry, said that two protection zones habe been identified in the Platamuni Nature Park. The second zone: Žukovac bay with the Kalafat reef (Seka Albaneze), Velika Krekavica bay and in front of Cape Platamuni; third protection zone: on land and at sea. Also, the protection zone of the protected area of the Platamuni Nature Park has been determined. The total area of the Platamuni Nature Park is 1,087.13 ha. Numerous pressures have been identified in this area and its surroundings, such as: wastewater, solid waste, fishing, including illegal fishing, anchoring, maritime traffic, invasive species, illegal construction, expansion - infrastructure construction, tourism, fires, abandonment of agricultural operations and depopulation of the area, afforestation with non-indigenous plant species, she said.

In the area of Platamuni there are significant habitats of the protected seagrass (Posidonia oceanica). Significant are also the sea caves near Cape Platamuni and in the bay of Velika Krekavica, while the cave of Velika Krekavica is an extremely important habitat in which there are various coralligenous concretions.

In the narrow coastal land area, significant species and habitats stand out, such as tree spurge (Euphorbia dendroides), habitats of thermo-Mediterranean pre-desert scrubs, Mediterranean rocky shores overgrown with endemic species of the genus Limonium and annual vegetation.

State Secretary for Ecology Danilo Mrdak confirmed the commitment of the Government of Montenegro to environmental protection and solving environmental issues. The proclamation of the first protected marine area Platamuni represents a fulfillment of our promises that ecology will be one of the basic pillars of this Government, he said. Mrdak explained that the benefits of establishing protected areas are multiple, starting from the direct implementation of the policy of sustainable development, by diversifying the tourist offer, i.e. providing conditions for more sustainable tourism. The expansion of the network of protected areas, and especially the protection of three new marine protected areas, is especially important for the process of Montenegro's accession to the European Union, he added.

State Secretary for Spatial Planning and Urbanism Aleksandar Ašanin emphasised the importance of establishing marine protected areas in the context of maritime spatial planning. He stated that the Ministry is also implementing the ecosystem-based approach in maritime spatial planning in cooperation with the Regional Activity Centre on Priority Actions of the UN Environment Programme with a focus on establishing a balance between environmental protection and planning development activities in the coastal area. The proclamation of Platamuni as the first protected marine area is also the first step in maritime spatial planning, which will contribute to raising awareness among planners about the need for integrated land-sea planning," Ašanin said.

The procedure of establishing protected area was carried out in accordance with the Law, in cooperation with the Ministry and the Environmental Protection Agency. In November 2020, the Agency finalised the Draft Protection Study for the proclamation of the protected natural asset Platamuni. In the period from 17 November to 17 December 2020, the Ministry organised a public debate on the Draft Decision on the proclamation of the Platamuni Nature Park and the Draft Protection Study for this area. The public debate was conducted by submitting remarks, proposals and suggestions in written and electronic form, as well as by organising three public forums in online format. Prior to, during and after the public debate, key national institutions, such as the Institute of Marine Biology, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, were consulted for the preparation and harmonisation of materials.