The Council of Europe is trying to prevent an environmental disaster on Lake Skadar in Montenegro

The Council of Europe Standing Committee in Strasbourg significantly increases the pressure on the Government of Montenegro to halt the construction of Porto Skadar Lake and the tourist resort Mihailovici as a matter of urgency and adequately protect the area of ​​the Skadar Lake National Park, NGO Green Home announced.

The opening of the case of Porto Skadar Lake and the tourist resort “Mihailovici” represents an important step in the struggle of the residents and environmental associations from Montenegro against the construction of luxury resorts.

Building such luxury resorts involves “endangering nature, unsustainable construction projects, and elevating the interests of privileged individuals,” Natasa Kovacevic, director of Green Home, told the Bulletin last year.

Due to the Porto Skadar Lake tourist complexes and the Mihailovici settlement, which are intended for many more tourists than the local population, it was envisaged that the bottom of the lake and the Bojana river would be dug, ie an “environmental catastrophe for the hydrological and biological system of the lake” was planned.

Green Home and the informal Virpazar Residents’ Association called for suspension of building permits for disputed complexes and revision of the Skadar Lake National Park Special Purpose Spatial Plan adopted in July 2018. They again warned of violations of the 2018 Bern Secretariat’s recommendations, last time this year, when the inspection authorities did not respond to the field levelling and cutting of trees carried out in order to prepare for the construction of the Mihailovici settlement. Last year, 13,000 people signed a petition to save Lake Skadar.

According to Montenegrin media, EU institutions have drawn attention to Porto Skadar Lake as an example of unsustainable construction and called for the implementation of preventive measures to protect Lake Skadar.

Source: masina.rs

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