Montenegro: a right old ecological state
Our first morning in Montenegro was promising. Having crossed the Albanian border north of Lake Shkoder late in the evening we had picked an unexpectedly off-road parkup for the night next to the lake. Walking down to the water in the morning we were rewarded by the sight of an otter popping it's head up among the water plants and a couple of bright blue kingfishers zipping past. We had heard good things about the nature in Montenegro and so far it was looking good
Montenegro had declared itself the world's first ecological state in 1991 and the term "democratic, social and ecological state' was in its constitution the following year. However what this means in practical terms is very much up for debate with a considerable number of environmental campaigners reporting on the "plunder of natural resources" and overdevelopment of once pristine areas of wilderness. It would be interesting to see the term "ecological state" was any more than a tourist attracting gimmick.
We, the deputies of the Republic of Montenegro, are aware that, due to the endangerment of nature, the protection of the identity of the space in which we live and work has become our urgent and timely work.
Aware of the debt to nature, the source of our health and the inspiration of our freedom and culture, we dedicate ourselves to its protection in the name of our survival and the future of our offspring.
We accept that no difference between us is as great as the great changes to which our natural environment is exposed. Regardless of our national, religious, political and other beliefs, we know and accept that the dignity and sanctity of the human being are organically linked to the sanctity and purity of nature.
Man and nature in and around him are one in their depths and, both in their meaning and purpose. Hence, the abuse of man has always been accompanied by the abuse of nature. That is why, by opting for and fighting for the dignity of man, we are called to fight for the dignity of nature as well.
By adopting this declaration, Montenegro is establishing a state relationship with nature and calls on the wisdom of all people to prevent the ecological catastrophe that threatens us
- Declaration on the ecological state of Montenegro
This development was certainly in evidence as we drove up the brand new motorway from Podgorica up towards the mountains and ski resorts round Biogradska Gora national park. A journey that would until recently have taken several hours along winding hilly roads can now be done in a little over an hour over bridges and through tunnels blasted into the mountains. There was no lack of development around Kolasin either with a massive resort building project underway promising to deliver over 200 "residential units" including 5 hotels, multiple apartment buildings, chalets and more.
We actually stayed overnight in the resort car park and after a short chairlift ride spent a surprisingly peaceful day hiking around the mountains, enjoying the views, splashing in the lake and picking rather a lot of bilberries, as well as making friends with a water loving dog! Considering the influx of tourists they must be hoping for I suspect the area won't be that quiet again for a long time!
None of this is any any different from any other country of course. The natural world is always seen as a resource to be used to our advantage, however and whenever suits us. Montenegro is by no means the worst offender in this respect but it does seem like a country which supposedly prides itself on its nature and ecology could be doing more to protect it. If you call yourself the world's first ecological state then don't be surprised if you are held to higher standards as a result. At this point in our trip the main thing that declaration appeared to achieve is to give tourism guides something to put in their "top ten reasons to visit Montenegro" SEO content filler pages.
In 1991 and for the following 3 decades, the Democratic party of socialists held power in montenegro. They were replaced in 2020 by an alliance of 3 parties with a narrow majority. In 2021 the new Montenegrin government published details of the environmental decisions carried out in their first 100 days, announcing that "the desire of the Ministry is for Montenegro to truly become an ecological state, and not only on paper.". It is early days but maybe they can take Montenegro in the right direction. Much as I may dislike it there has to be a balance between preserving true wilderness and allowing people to benefit from tourism and other activities which may impact on the environment. The trick for any government is to maximise the benefits for their people while minimising the environmental impacts, hopefully this new government will do just that.
Around 10% of Montenegro is national parks (a similar percentage to the UK) but it has to be said that from what we have experienced they are managed very well indeed. You do have to pay an access fee although if you buy an annual pass for all the national parks online it is a very reasonable €13.50! Some car parks have an additional parking fee on top but this is also very low and most importantly you can actually park up in a motorhome/campervan and stay overnight in a lot of places in and around the national parks. As a result we found some incredible parkups in Montenegro, among the best of the whole trip. The parks were also fairly free of litter unlike other parts of Montenegro (some of the lay-bys were just horrific) which I guess just shows that even in the Balkans it is actually possible to keep an area clean, I just wish they could share the secret with everyone else!
The last few days of our time in Montenegro was spent in Durmitor national park, which encompasses the highest canyon in Europe (the Tara river canyon), the highest peak in Montenegro (Bobotov Kuk) and some spectacular views. Swimming in the Tara, sport climbing at Pelitor, hiking/scrambling to the top of Bobotov Kuk and canyoning in the nevidio canyon made for quite an exhausting few days before a scenic drive to the Bosnian border at the village of Hum.
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