Nature Park 'Rijeka Zeta' Threatened by Illegal Dumping and Unlawful Construction: Disregard for Laws and Environmental Protection

Despite being a protected area, the effectiveness of protection in 'Rijeka Zeta' is undermined by inadequate legal frameworks and poor implementation. Additionally, waste in the region poses a threat to public health.

Tijana Lekić

Wildlandfills in the "Rijeka Zeta" Nature Park contain various waste—tires, construction debris, dead animals, food scraps, textiles, car parts, and furniture. There seems to be no limit to what ends up in these illegal dumpsites.

This protected area spans 120 square kilometers and covers parts of both the Podgorica and Danilovgrad municipalities. The Podgorica section, which covers 26 square kilometers, is managed by the Agency for Management of Protected Areas of Podgorica (AUZP), while the remainder of the park falls within Danilovgrad.

The largest landfill, covering an area of one square kilometer, is located in Mareza, alongside the highway near the "Imanje Knjaz" restaurant, just outside Podgorica. This massive dump is a severe threat to the local ecosystem and public health.

According to staff from the AUZP Protection Service, the rangers responsible for monitoring the Podgorica section of the park, the large landfill in Mareza is flooded with the first rains, causing the waste to spread across the flooded area.

Illegal landfills attract pests like mice, flies, and rats, which can spread infectious diseases. They also contaminate the soil and groundwater, as the waste often contains heavy metals and other hazardous substances.

A few months after the park was established, in early 2020, AUZP encountered a problem with unclear jurisdiction regarding the illegal dumping of waste, particularly between the Podgorica Communal Police and the Environmental Inspection.

AUZP informed the Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG) that the Environmental Inspection considers itself responsible only for hazardous waste. At the same time, according to the Inspection, the Podgorica Municipal Police is tasked with managing other types of garbage.

However, the Communal Police assert that the Environmental Inspection is responsible for all types of waste in protected areas under the Nature Protection Act.

"Regarding protected areas, the rangers are responsible for monitoring the terrain. If they detect any issues, they report them to the Directorate for Inspection Affairs so that the necessary procedures can be initiated," the Podgorica Communal Police told CIN-CG. However, they did not answer questions about potential legal gaps that might limit their effectiveness.

An even more pressing issue is that the Law on Waste Management does not address private land, meaning the Podgorica service "Čistoća" is not obligated to remove waste from private properties.

"We only remove waste upon request from private landowners," the "Čistoća" service said in a statement to CIN-CG.

Thanks to field data provided by the rangers, AUZP's professional service has created a comprehensive database detailing the locations and types of waste.

"Čistoća has removed all landfills located on state-owned plots identified by the rangers during their daily patrols, but these sites are often re-established," AUZP reported.

Many illegal landfills in the "Rijeka Zeta" Nature Park have existed for years, likely even before the area was designated a protected zone, and they continue to proliferate despite the designation. People responsible for improper waste disposal often dump at night, a pattern confirmed by AUZP.

"The fines imposed are insufficient for the severity of the offense. According to information from the Municipal Police, the fine for the improper disposal of waste by trucks is only 20 euros," AUZP told CIN-CG.

Under the Decision on Communal Order, the owner of a private plot within a protected area is responsible for maintaining their property. If they fail, the inspector or ranger visits the site, records the condition in a report, and instructs the property owner to clean up their yard.

"The fine for a natural person ranges from 20 to 1,000 euros," the Podgorica Communal Police stated.

EU countries enforce much stricter regulations. In Italy, fines for illegal waste dumping range from 300 to 3,000 euros, with penalties increasing to 1,000 to 10,000 euros as of October 2023. In cases involving hazardous waste, the fine can rise to 20,000 euros. The Italian Code of the Cultural and Landscape Heritage holds the individual who dumps the waste responsible, and the landowner where the waste is found.

"Since 2020, no criminal cases have been filed for the offense of polluting the environment with waste," the Basic Court in Podgorica reported to CIN-CG.

Montenegro's Criminal Code prescribes prison sentences ranging from three months to eight years for those who, through waste management activities, endanger human life, health, or the environment. If the offense was committed negligently, penalties range from fines to five years in prison, and if the offense results in serious injury, health damage, or death, the sentence can be between two and twelve years.

AUZP informed CIN-CG that three months ago, representatives from relevant institutions, companies, and inspections responsible for waste management met in Podgorica. The meeting concluded with a decision to invite plot owners with wild landfills to a meeting in the capital.

"The Property Directorate of Podgorica has been tasked with identifying the owners of these landfills using the AUZP's database and inviting them to a meeting in Podgorica. Some owners may not be aware of the condition of their properties," AUZP explained.

At the meeting, owners will be informed that the landfills will be removed, but if the waste is disposed of again, they will be held accountable, and legal action will be taken.

It is common for people to set fire to waste in these illegal dumps, posing significant risks to the health of nearby residents. When waste burns, harmful substances such as dioxins are released into the air, contaminating the air, water, and soil.

According to rangers interviewed by CIN-CG, land near the largest landfill is being exploited. "We caught people stealing land from the area and then selling it."

The question remains where this land goes, what it is used for, and what health risks it may pose.

One of the five main objectives of the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, which Montenegro signed in 2020, is reducing air, water, and soil pollution. In April 2024, the Law on Waste Management was adopted, but it does not detail the issue of landfills on private properties in protected areas.

Recently, a group of NGOs proposed implementing the digitalization of inspection services and applications as part of reorganizing the Directorate for Inspection Affairs. This could improve transparency, combat corruption, and increase service efficiency.

Construction First, Consequences Later: The Cost of Unplanned Development

A woman sits in front of her house, reading a newspaper, while excavators and backhoes work beside a high concrete fence, laying foundations for new construction. In Velje Brdo, within the protected "Rijeka Zeta" Nature Park, an entire new settlement is emerging—just one of many construction sites in the area.

For this investigation, a CIN-CG journalist visited the Podgorica section of the "Rijeka Zeta" Nature Park with AUZP rangers and observed seven newly constructed illegal buildings in Velje Brdo alone. Foundations, concrete slabs, and load-bearing walls were visible at some sites. While many buildings were unfinished, some had notices from the Environmental Inspection prohibiting construction, with a few also receiving construction bans from the Building Inspection.

However, these warnings were often ignored. Some construction continues in the park's third protection zone, while others are being built in the second zone, where only temporary structures are permitted by law.

None of these buildings had been demolished. At one site under construction for months, workers continued digging freely in front of the CIN-CG team despite the owner's lack of approval from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at the time. CIN-CG later learned that the EPA approval was obtained the day after the visit.

Such cases highlight a common issue in Montenegro—construction begins without permits, and the licenses are sought afterward, resulting in the eventual legalization of many structures.

The rangers explain that those building in the protected area were initially afraid of the Podgorica Protected Areas Management Agency's enforcement efforts. However, as time passed and no serious sanctions were imposed, more people began building without concern. "The inspection comes, issues a report, and then construction continues," the rangers explain.

Conditional Penalties for Illegal Construction: A Threat to the Environment

In recent months, rangers have submitted 11 requests to the Environmental Inspection and eight to the Building Inspection regarding illegal construction in the "Rijeka Zeta" Nature Park.

The Urban and Construction Inspection, part of the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism, and State Property (MDUP), oversees illegal buildings under the Law on Spatial Planning and Construction of Buildings. Meanwhile, the Environmental Inspection monitors protected areas under the Law on Environmental Protection.

"Regarding illegal construction, since 2020, 14 decisions have been made to halt further activities, six requests for misdemeanor proceedings have been filed, and one criminal report has been submitted," the Environmental Inspection told CIN-CG.

They also highlighted a legal paradox: the current Law on Nature Protection does not impose misdemeanor liability on individuals engaging in unauthorized activities in protected areas, even though such provisions should exist. "We believe that penalties should be enforced through other regulations, such as spatial planning documents," the Environmental Inspection added.

As of the publication of this article, CIN-CG had not received responses to the numerous questions sent to the Urban Planning and Construction Inspection.

The Basic Court in Podgorica informed CIN-CG that from 2020 to the present, 35 verdicts and 29 judgments were issued for the criminal offense of building without proper registration or construction documentation across the capital. All of the sentences in these cases were conditional, except for one involving a repeat offense, resulting in three months of house arrest, despite the crime being punishable by six to five years in prison.

Of the 29 cases, only two plots were involved within the "Rijeka Zeta" Nature Park in the Velje Brdo area, and both resulted in conditional sentences.

The Podgorica Basic Court also reported that since 2020, no cases have been filed for the criminal offense of illegal construction, commissioning, or operation of facilities that pollute the environment, and no final judgments have been made for this offense—penalties for this crime range from six months to 12 years in prison.

In Italy, Illegal Construction Can Lead to the Seizure of Property

In European Union countries, such as Italy, the legal representative of a protected natural area—like Montenegro's AUZP—has the authority to immediately suspend construction and mandate the restoration of the area to its original state. Those who authorized the illegal construction and the companies involved are legally required to cover all costs associated with rehabilitating the damaged area. If they fail to do so, the municipality has the right to seize the property.

Montenegro still has a long way to go, aligning its practices with those of the EU and enforcing its own laws, which are often disregarded. As a result, protected areas and public health remain compromised, with little accountability for those responsible.

Rampant Bird Poaching Threatens Wildlife in Montenegro

Poaching is a major contributor to the degradation of the "Rijeka Zeta" Nature Park, with birds being the primary target.

While hunting is permitted on Sundays, illegal practices occur throughout the week. Poachers use decoys, such as speakers, MP3 players, and batteries, expressly prohibited devices. At night, the sounds of quails' calls, amplified by these devices, can be heard for kilometers. The quails are drawn to the sound, landing to rest and feed, only to be ambushed by poachers at dawn.

The Montenegrin Law on Game and Hunting explicitly forbids the use of decoys, recognizing that they lead to the mass killing of wildlife. Rangers told CIN-CG, "Given the number of spent cartridges found in the dugouts, it's clear that the birds were lured there in advance."

Montenegro is home to 352 bird species, representing 65% of Europe's total biodiversity, which includes 533 species. The "Rijeka Zeta" Nature Park is rich in plant and animal species, many of which are protected under EU Natura 2000 laws.

Fish poaching has been less prevalent in the Podgorica section of the park, but rangers still encounter hidden boats. They caution that fish caught in the area should not be consumed due to pollution.