WB/GEF MED: Montenegro Tourism Development - under Investment Fund for the Mediterranean Sea LME Partnership

Coastal Montenegro faces a critical mixture of economic opportunity and environmental pressure that must be carefully managed if national growth targets are to be achieved and biodiversity are to be preserved. The coastal zone has long been renown for its biodiversity, with the Bojana-Buna Delta exemplifying this. The delta -- with its 13 kilometers of almost unobstructed beach, the dunes and the hinterland with its mixture of wetlands, forests and pastures -- provides living space for many endangered species: birds, dolphins can be observed swimming up the river, and sea turtles nest in the area. The delta and other coastal areas attracted large numbers of tourists before the war. However, the tourism industry is now aggressively growing, and creating a lot of pressure on habitats and biodiversity of transboundary and global significamce. The proposed GEF activity would address the two main threats the Bujana-Buna Delta is facing: (i) the discharge of untreated wastewater into the open sea, and into Porta Milena, a waterway that connects the inland lagoon (at Solina) with the sea; and (ii) the lack of environmental protection policy for the entire delta (only the costal strip is protected as a natural monument) and the lack of environmental protection enforcement measures. The above would be addressed by (i) constructing and operating a wastewater treatment plant in Ulcinj, the town that borders the Bojana-Buna Delta, and (ii) extending the protection status from the coastal strip to the hinterland and creating a unit in charge of managing the protected area.