18 September 2018 - Montenegro is striving to protect its available resources, but also wants to contribute to overall global environmental protection initiatives, as concluded at a meeting with the representatives of the United Nations.
On September 18, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Milutin Simović, with his associates, had a meeting with the permanent representative of the United Nations and the United Nations Development Programme in Montenegro, Ms. Fiona McCluney.
The aim of the meeting was to jointly examine the possibilities of Montenegrin application for new grants from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Adaptation Fund (AF), through the preparation and implementation of projects aimed at mitigating the impact of climate change on forests, water and agriculture.
In the name of the Montenegrin Government, DPM Simović expressed gratitude for the ongoing, continuous and significant support that UNDP is providing to Montenegro, aimed at the implementation of overall reforms within the field of environmental protection. According to Simović, the Montenegrin goal is to protect its resources, as well as to contribute to overall global initiatives, such as mitigation of climate change.
In this context, DPM Simović emphasised the importance of defining new projects that would be promptly implemented and would have visible effects as their result. In particular, he stressed the necessity of creating projects that would respond to climate change, which would also provide answers to challenges related to droughts, floods, the impact of torrential rivers, erosion and degradation of agricultural land. Deputy Prime Minister Simović underlined the importance of giving special attention to the forests, as the indispensable part of the overall ecosystem.
The meeting also analysed the concept of the "Enabling transboundary cooperation and integrated water resources management in the extended Drin River Basin," initiated by DPM Simović in December 2017 in a meeting with the regional coordinator of the Global Water Partnership. The project, which would be implemented in cooperation with Albania, includes the preparation of necessary documentation and execution of priority works on the regulation of the river Bojana.
Permanent Representative of the UNDP in Montenegro Fiona McCluney shared the readiness of the organisation to provide all technical and expert support in defining new projects in cooperation with the Montenegrin administration in order to fulfil the demanding procedures for approving financial support from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Adaptation Fund (AF).
