Held on November 1, 2023, at the Nevidio Eco Village, Šavnik
A full-day artistic and educational event, organized by the Montenegrin Ecologists Society, was held on November 1, 2023, at the Nevidio Eco Village in Šavnik. The aim of the event was to initiate dialogue between the local population, independent experts from various fields, and decision-makers about the potentials, obstacles, and solutions for the development of Šavnik, and more broadly, other rural areas of Montenegro.
During the event, participants had the opportunity to first learn about the specificities of the Šavnik region, then to hear directly from locals about the challenges hindering sustainable development, and finally to jointly construct conclusions about the steps needed for one of the most valuable areas of our country to embrace its attributes. With simultaneous investment in the local community and nature conservation, Šavnik could create a success story of true development in line with the principles of ecological Montenegro. Just as Montenegro’s declaration as an ecological state has served as an example to other countries like Costa Rica—which succeeded in applying these principles and showing the world what an ecological, sustainable, and prosperous country looks like—Šavnik could become a successful model of rural area development.
Participants included local residents, experts from various fields (tourism, ecology, agriculture, communications, sustainable development, journalism…), and representatives from the Ministry of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism, and the Ministry of Economic Development and Tourism. Unfortunately, although invited, representatives of the Municipality of Šavnik did not attend, despite this being—according to locals—the first event of its kind ever organised in Šavnik. Artists and creatives also enriched the atmosphere, using their work to showcase the beauty of this region in a unique way.
Tourists engaged in nature-based rural tourism spend an average of €312.00 per day
Kirsi Hyvaerinen, a tourism expert from Finland who fell in love with Montenegro and moved here in 2006, reminded us that “if it’s not sustainable, it’s not development at all,” because sustainability means “a healthy environment for everyone, today and tomorrow.” We were also reminded that Montenegro has so far used a flawed strategy to measure the success of the tourist season—by counting people and beds. Mass tourism contributes just 14% of total revenue to the state, while adventure or rural tourism contributes up to 65%. Kirsi emphasizes that today’s visitors are no longer the same as those from the 1980s. Properly designed rural tourism offerings—focused on observing and enjoying wild, healthy, clean nature, water, air, and food, as well as traditional and cultural values—are exactly what most tourists today seek and expect.
Rural areas, which actually make up the largest part of our country, offer perfect opportunities for this kind of tourism. However, they require us to be thoughtful when creating content and accommodation capacities, which should reflect our history and authenticity, not damage them.
Honey from Bukovica named best in the world
Mirjana Đundić, an agricultural engineer from Šavnik, introduced us to unique aspects of this region that few know about. Did you know that honey from Bukovica was named the best honey in the world in the 1990s? This speaks to the richness of the region’s floral composition per square meter, which ensures not only the highest-quality honey but also excellent potential for dairy products and beekeeping. A breeding station for the Mountain Horse used to exist in Gornja Bukovica, and the first import of Tyrolean cattle in Montenegro is linked to this area.
Durmitor skorup (a type of dairy spread) is a typical product closely associated with this region and protected by a PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) quality label—offering more protection than even the famous Njeguši prosciutto. The gene bank of the Biotechnical Faculty holds a potato variety from Boan, and Duška buckwheat is produced in Duži. This buckwheat should be seen as a symbol of resistance, both literally and figuratively. It remains unclear why the local population is not taking advantage of quality certification schemes—whether due to lack of information or insufficient support from those responsible for the area’s development.
Mirjana emphasized that a preserved environment is the fundamental condition for organic agriculture, which goes hand-in-hand with healthy biodiversity and soil microbiome. Finally, she stressed the need to conduct a needs assessment of the local population before a proper development plan or strategy can be created.
Fewer and fewer people can pass on traditional knowledge to future generations
Nada Vemić, a designer, showed us how traditional motifs from our cultural heritage can be presented in a new light today. By carefully combining them with modern design techniques, they can be proudly showcased to the world. She warned that traditional knowledge—central to our identity, development, and uniqueness—is vanishing rapidly as older generations disappear. Few people have committed to preserving and passing down these techniques to the younger generations.
Will there be any villages in Montenegro in ten years?
Ivan Mališić, from the Regional Development Agency for Bjelasica, Komovi, and Prokletije, who has worked in rural community development for twenty years—expressed concern that there may be no villages left in Montenegro in ten years, simply because no one will live in them.
A time is coming when land, healthy food, clean water and air will be the most valuable and sought-after resources
Tamara Brajović, director at the Ministry of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism, remains optimistic. Though she pointed out issues like lack of cooperation and synergy among state institutions, she believes that the current MEPPU program will demonstrate how protected areas can benefit local communities. She reminded everyone that a time is fast approaching when wealth will belong only to those who own a piece of land—a trend already evident in developed and overdeveloped countries. She added: “We have an advantage over the world—developed countries need to restore their nature and resources, while Montenegro still doesn’t have to do that, because it still possesses untouched nature, clean water, and clean air.”
Danijel Garić, editor of the “Ekovizija” program on RTCG, noted that environmental topics in Montenegro receive little attention, while globally, issues such as “climate change” and “environment” are among the top four most-read topics.
Šavnik could be the perfect place to live
Milija Ćeranić, a representative of the local population from the village of Duži, says that the main thing they currently lack is: people. He says he owns an orchard that gives above-average yields, and that this area is a perfect place to live, but that in some parts there is still a lack of: reliable electricity, good roads, mobile phone signal, water supply and other infrastructure. And above all, he says, what’s missing are quality projects that would truly support human life in the countryside, while also supporting nature — on which quality of life primarily depends. He reminds that he is in favor of protecting nature, but also of protecting people, and he points out that the mechanisms of support for rural populations are often so complicated that they represent a kind of “noose around the neck”, and therefore do not represent real help — which is why they are rarely chosen by people in the countryside. Milija says: “I wanted to ask the Municipality, but they didn’t come — is our future to flood the Komarnica Canyon, or maybe to charge for the fact that the canyon is preserved? This region offers numerous untapped benefits like medicinal herbs, hundreds of types of mushrooms and edible plants, which form the basis for the most beautiful types of tourist offers.”
Anka Kujović from the Ministry of Economic Development and Tourism says that the importance of rural tourism development is still not sufficiently recognized in Montenegro.
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After a full day of learning, exchanging experiences, opinions, and ideas, the following CONCLUSIONS emerged from the discussion:
Montenegrin Ecologists Society will continue to support the development of this region, especially working on the protection of both the Komarnica River and the improvement of life in the villages on its slopes. It will continue initiating meetings in Šavnik with the local community, decision-makers, and various experts — the next one is already scheduled for the end of November. Kirsi says that with this event we have all together extended a hand, and when someone takes it, that’s when we’ll succeed in taking a step forward. We hope that the next gathering will be attended by both a greater number of Šavnik citizens and their decision-makers.
Tamara Brajović emphasizes that MEPPU will continue to support similar ideas and will continue working on improving laws and strategies aimed at the protection of biodiversity.
Milija Ćeranić concludes by pointing out that the plans for the development of the municipality of Šavnik are confusing, because in the Spatial Plan and other strategic and planning documents this area is presented both as a zone for energy development and as an area that will be dedicated to nature conservation and tourism development. Considering that focusing on energy projects can in no way go hand in hand with the development of tourism, he proposes deleting the plan to form an energy hub, and instead connecting local agriculture and tourism, so that tourists are finally encouraged to buy local products, and not those from Aroma and Voli chains.
In the end, Ivan says that as long as the word “peasant” (seljak) is not something to be proud of, there will be no development of rural tourism. “It won’t be easy for at least another decade, but then the whole world will turn toward the development of the countryside — unless, in the meantime, it disappears.”
Jelena Pavićević agrees that people from the countryside need to be presented as heroes in public discourse, and that we should regularly express gratitude to them, because they are precisely the people who preserve our nature, who produce our food, and who take care of and maintain our land — whose beauty and hospitality everyone admires. According to her, the staying of young people and the return of people to Šavnik can become a reality. “Ecology is something that can be wisely valorised. A confirmation of that are foreigners like Kirsi who decide to stay and live in our beautiful country. A large number of foreigners remind us of that every day.”
During the whole event, participants had the opportunity to enjoy photographs of the stunning landscapes of the Šavnik municipality, then images and other artworks resembling creations made from wool in the art colonies held in Šavnik, and an additional atmosphere was provided by the string trio Neda Tadić & Maja Antić Kalezić.
This event was organised within the project “Ecological Networks – the Key to Development Based on Preserved Nature,” implemented by the Montenegrin Ecologists Society. The project is supported by the Centre for Civic Education (CGO), within the program “CSOs in Montenegro – from Basic Services to Policy Shaping – M’BASE” which is funded by the European Union, and co-financed by the Ministry of Public Administration. The organization of this event was additionally supported by the Ministry of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism, within the project “Mainstreaming Biodiversity into Sectoral Policies and Practices and Strengthening the Protection of Critical Biodiversity Areas in Montenegro.”
