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The indicator shows the share of designated terrestrial protected areas expressed as a share of the total land area. It includes areas protected by other effective area-based conservation measures. The EU and global targets aim for 30% protection.
The trend in the number of new terrestrial protected areas declared has been increasing over the years. Montenegro set a goal in to protect 17% of its national territory by 2020, with marine protected areas comprising at least 10% of the total protected areas. By 2023, national protection covered 11.60 % of the country’s area, with terrestrial areas at 13.41% and (i) . Although progress is evident, targets remain unmet, highlighting the need for more intensive and effective actions. However, if nominated Emerald sites are taken into account, Montenegro can be seen as having met its protected areas goal (ii). A new biodiversity strategy is being developed to define updated objectives aligned with the targets of the EU and the Convention on Biological Diversity Kunming–Montreal global biodiversity framework, alongside the identification process for Natura 2000 sites. These efforts aim to establish a consistent ecological network in Montenegro and enhance biodiversity conservation through new protected areas. The management of protected areas requires significant improvement: out of 76 protected areas, 30 .
References and footnotes
- ↵Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism, National biodiversity strategy with the action plan for the period 2016–2020, Podgorica, 2015, accessed 23 June 2025, https://www.cbd.int/doc/world/me/me-nbsap-v2-en.pdf.
- ↵Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism, National Strategy for Sustainable Development of Montenegro, Podgorica, 2016, accessed 23 June 2025, https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/mne180387.pdf.
- a bGDi, ‘Zaštićena područja prirode Crne Gore’, GDi Ensemble SmartPortal, accessed 23 June 2025, https://cloud.gdi.net/smartPortal/zppCG.
i. The total area under protection is calculated based on the joint surface of the national terrestrial and marine areas, which is why the total value is lower than the total of the individual percentages.
ii. Since nominated Emerald sites are not yet officially adopted as national protected areas but will be in the future and are currently considered protected by international status, the official percentage of 13.4 % for nationally protected areas is lower (and indicates that the goal is not achieved) and differs from what can be seen in the graphs. Nevertheless, the calculations conducted by the European Environment Agency included these areas, which is why the goal of 17 % is considered met.