November 24, 2020 - Montenegro is close to declaring the first marine protected area. A public debate is underway on the Draft Decision on the Proclamation of the Platamuni Protected Area, as well as the related Protection Study, which was announced by the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism for December 17.
The area of the future Nature Park "Platamuni" is a part of the coastal sea with its coast between the bay of Trašte - Cape Žabica in the northwest and Cape Platamuni near the beach Ploče in the southeast, which protects protected and ecologically significant marine and coastal species and habitats.
The story of declaring protected zones from the perspective of marine biodiversity has been going on for years. This is why Montenegro has been waiting for such a long time for the proclamation of protected sea areas , explains one of the experts from the Institute of Marine Biology who worked on the protection study, Dr. Slavica Kašćelan Petović.
"Platamuni has long been the subject of our interest. We have carried out some studies on the assessment of the state of ecosystems in that area previously. We have also carried out studies for the island of Katiči and the location of Stari Ulcinj. Finally, the segments are coming together. The work on perceiving biological potentials was intensified, and I hope that we will soon have the first marine zone under protection, "says Dr. Kašćelan Petović.
Platamuni Nature Park will be an Integrated Coastal and Marine Protected Area, classified in the IV category of protected areas, including locations in which there are protected wild species of plants and animals and established systems for their habitat protection. Dr. Slavica Kašćelan Petović explains why Platamuni is a significant area from the perspective of biodiversity:
"Platamuni is significant because of its great biological potential. In this area, some habitats are a priority according to European directives. Here we have benthic species on the protected and endangered lists, and Platamuni is also significant as a rich fishing resource. All this has contributed to the recognition of this area as valuable for protection," explains Dr. Slavica Kašćelan Petović.
Topographic map of Platamuni, Donji Grbalj, Kotor
The total area of the future Nature Park "Platamuni" will be 1,091.73 ha, of which in the sea part 285.08 ha in the II protection zone and 775.87 ha in the III protection zone. In the land - coastal part in the III protection zone 3.08 ha. The total length of the border of the future Nature Park "Platamuni" is 28,589 km.
Dr. Kašćelan Petović expects that the establishment of protection for Platamuni will be completed soon, but also that shortly after the first is established, we will get two more protected areas in the sea - the island of Katiči and the area in front of Stari Ulcinj. However, she emphasizes that any protection is insufficient if the awareness of each individual about the need for environmental protection and limited resources that oblige us all to account is not raised.
