Today, eight non-governmental organizations sent a letter to the European Commission (EC) asking for help in resolving the issue of devastation of the Tara River due to the construction of the Bar-Boljare highway.
The letter was sent to the EC Directorate-General for Environment, i.e. to the Director-General for Environment, Daniel Calleja, and his assistants Luis Herrera and Natalie Pauwels.
NGOs remind that the construction of the Bar-Boljare highway has led to a significant devastation of the Tara River basin, which is part of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves, and this is proved by the footage of the part between Mateševo and Jabuka (Kolašin area), made by drone on October 23, 2018:
Coalition 27 seeks assistance from the EC in resolving this issue in the light of the opening of negotiations on Chapter 27, in order to ensure that the public access to information regarding the environment meets the international standards; an appropriate assessment of the existing and potential future damage to the Tara River due to the construction of the highway; allocation of sufficient funds and implementation of adequate and transparent measures for monitoring and revitalization.
NGOs also seek to establish short-term measures of remediation and revitalization of the river hydromorphology and biodiversity of river and coastal vegetation based on additional scientific research and findings from the Evaluation of the zero state of biological monitoring of the Tara aquatic ecosystem and Monitoring Reports 2016-2018; informing the public on all further pressures on the Tara River basin that arise from the road construction operations and stopping the activities of disposal and waste management, as well as further changes in the riverbed (channeling and changing the structure of the riverbed).
They remind that the Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment states that the Spatial Plan for the Bar-Boljare Highway violates Article 6 of the UNESCO Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, as the construction of the highway is planned to be carried out through the protected area. This article obliges Montenegro not to take any measures that could directly or indirectly damage the natural heritage.
“The precise route of the highway and its potential impact on protected areas are still not known to the public. All monitoring reports made by different institutions, all project documentation that shows more details on the exact route of the highway through the protected zone, basic information on financial arrangements and payments, as well as many other documents, are a state secret. In addition, all the experts that the government hired to oversee this project are obliged to protect all information received as business secrets,” the letter says.
The letter to the European Commission were sent by MANS, Green Home, Ozone, Center for Protection and Research of Birds of Montenegro, Expeditio, Our Action, Center for Development of Durmitor and Breznica.
MANS
