Nature protection and biodiversity - Drivers and pressures (Montenegro)

Generally, knowledge of the biodiversity of Montenegro is quite weak, with many loopholes, lack of inventories, as well as data on population dynamics, ecosystems and levels of genetic variation of many species. This limits the devising and making of adequate measures of protection, primarily for rivers and endangered species in Montenegro, and the general lack of data on biodiversity limits the monitoring of ecological changes. In general there is little direct information about whether biological resources are being used in a sustainable way, which is a reflection of an insufficient level of state monitoring in this area. On the other hand, there are certain indicators that some species are being over-exploited and natural resource management is not based on a solid model of sustainable use.

The main pressures on biodiversity are anthropogenic and this is reflected in the following:

Degradation of natural habitats and their replacement with secondary or entirely artificial habitats which are unfavourable for the survival of species from primary ecosystems. Agricultural areas are mainly developed at the expense of forests, heaths, valley meadows, marshes and bogs.

Birds are particularly affected by over-exploitation of species through uncontrolled hunting, especially of birds of prey, and their destruction has consequences for food chains. Migratory bird species are exposed to the greatest pressure, because they are affected by hunting during their whole migratory movement. Uncontrolled fishing – the use of explosives when other species are also killed, poison and non- standard fishing methods, including narrow diameter nets that also catch young fish which have not yet produced offspring – is also common.

The introduction of allochthonous flora and fauna species is especially noticeable in aquatic ecosystems. Specific fish species – including Californian trout and Silver carp bred for commercial use mainly in fishponds – have caused big changes in the composition of ichthyofauna by escaping into rivers and lakes, and in some aquatic ecosystems they dominate entirely, which implies that the biodiversity has been significantly reduced. There are examples: Vrazje Lake in Durmitor National Park and Zminje Lake in Sinjavina were stocked with Californian trout that have entirely destroyed the relic and endemic population of newt (Triturus alpestris).

Forest exploitation shows an upward trend in the amount of cutting for 2002-2006. The volume of timber cut in 2002 was 514 708m³, in 2006, 631 273m³, and in 2007, 540 333m³. The annual increase in commercial forests was estimated to be around 1.18 million m³, so it can be concluded that forest exploitation is sustainable if only documented data on commercial logging are considered.

National forestry policy states that cutting should not be bigger than two thirds of the annual increment, whereas it is estimated in the Physical Plan of Montenegro to 2020 that an annual potential volume of cutting in all forests could be around 800 000 m³. In addition, areas covered with forests have been increasing over recent years not only due to afforestation, but also because of natural regeneration and the abandonment of agricultural land. It is estimated that illegal cutting accounts for 200 000 m³ annually. On the other hand, Monstat records only 5 447 m³ of illegal cuttings for 2007. Cutting is not carried out in inaccessible regions, but mainly concentrated in so-called open forestry areas in which the volume of cuttings cannot be considered sustainable. The National Forestry Policy highlights the importance of sustainable cutting in the future and particularly stresses the need to take account aquifer/water areas, tourism development and recreational activities.

Taking of marine species has increased from an average of 470 t / year in the period 2002-2005, at 689 tons per year in 2007. The total annual consumption of all species of fish and cephalopods was higher in 2006.   In previous years can be considered the result of increasing production in fish farming. Examination of the biomass and population dynamics of economically important fish species indicate that their populations have reached the point of over-fishing.

Data on changes in the number and structure of fish populations in Skadar Lake are also limited – detailed information and assessments of the state of fish stock have not been published since the 1980s. Assessments by fishing experts indicate that fish populations in the lake have been reduced due to an increase in pollution from inflows, illegal/uncontrolled fishing, a cessation of the migratory movement of sea species on Bojana river and a lack of measures to protect fish stock in the Albanian part of the lake.

Based on the number of boars (Sus scrofa) shot – more than 1 000 in 2007, nearly 25 % of the estimated population in the hunting grounds – current levels of hunting cannot be regarded as sustainable. Hunting is not organised properly, which results in concern due to threats to hunted, and other, species that exist in the 40 Montenegrin hunting grounds covering an area of 1 198 000 ha. Hunting organisations submit data to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, which are not independently verified, and many catches are not reported.