Montenegro

Presentation of results of 1st Phase of "Environmental Geographic Information System (GIS) for  Montenegro" project

National inventory of forests and biodiversity

For the first time the Republic of Montenegro will obtain referential and valid data related to national forests inventory, through "Environmental Geographic Information System (GIS) for Montenegro" project which was already implemented in almost all developed countries in the world.

The presentation of the results achieved so far under the implementation of Phase I of "Environmental Geographic Information System (GIS) for Montenegro" project was held on April 19th at Crna Gora Hotel, Podgorica. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland financially supported the first project phase with cca $ 500,000. The process of project implementation entailed procurement of equipment and software, set up of pilot GIS system encompassing forestry and biodiversity data and basic training of Central Management Unit of the Montenegrin Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management as well as trainings in biodiversity sector. The Presentation will include demonstration of the system, report on current status and presentation of further steps in statewide GIS implementation.
Geographic information system is a group of technologies, processes, human resources and data about space (over 80% of information produced by government departments, meaning any data that can be linked with certain spot in space). Information from different domains (meteorology, forestry, water management, environmental protection, etc.) can be compared, verified and jointly used for different researches. In order to manage natural resources in a sustainable way, timely and accurate information are needed. GIS serves as a tool for providing this kind of information. Also, the information are very clear and they are presentable in the form of so called thematic maps.
Introduction of the GIS in Montenegro aims to create conditions for informed decision-making, better monitoring, management and protection of forests, biodiversity and land as most significant resources for sustainable development in Montenegro. Ensuring environmental and forestry sustainability is one of Millennium Development Goals and it is unimaginable without complete and precise data on the forest conditions. With the GIS as a technological basis for accurate data it will be possible to estimate the sustainability of management strategy, including interaction with the forestry science. Also, GIS will alleviate the control processes in the planned forestry works.

Robert Aleksić, Environmental GIS Project Manager, UNDP Serbia and Montenegro, LO Podgorica: “All the fundamental preconditions for proper implementation of Geographic Information System are fulfilled. We covered Montenegro by topographical maps in the scales between 25 and 200:000, hidrological maps in the scale of 1:50:000, land maps… We also produced rough terrain models and we obtained a preliminary amount of satellite images. By the end of this year the Phase I of the project will complete GIS in Forestry and Biodiversity domains. Phase II should last three years (estimated cost between $ 2-3 Million) and it should cover spatial planning and illegal constructions, but also the spreading of GIS statewide. Phase III is still being conceptualized, but the idea is to consolidate the institutional implementation whilst all the relevant areas will be covered by sufficient number of trained staff.” Environmental GIS for MN (PDF, 13MB)

Milosav Anđelić, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of Montenegrin Government: “Forest Road Project Designers will mainly benefit from GIS as it will enable easier construction of forest roads. Also, we will be in possession of large numbers of data related to hidrological conditions and terrain geology which we will apply in the forestry-silvicultural domain.” GIS in Forestry (PDF, 8.7MB)

Lazarela Kalezić, Senior Advisor in Montenegrin Ministry of Environmental Protection and Physical Planning: “This project will help Montenegro acquire a chart of herbal species diffusion and a vegetation map. GIS has so far processed and updated the available data for 30% of biodiversity in Montenegro, and after the updating of the entire amount of available data on certain herbal species it would be adequate to create a herbal species chart for the territory of Montenegro.” Ms Kalezić also said that "Natura 2000", European Ecological Network, needs to be established and the Republic of Montenegro will also be required to make a land catalogization on its entire territory, in accordance with Corina methodology. Environmental GIS (PDF, 2.9MB)

H.E. Ms. Anna-Maija Korpi, Ambassadoress of Finland: “I hope that the Republic of Finland will continue to support the sustainable development in Montenegro and I hope there is willingness to help in this region to accelerate the processes of integration in EU and transatlantic institutions.”