Montenegro Allocates €24 Million Yet Fails to Protect Moraca River

The government of Montenegro has allocated €24 million to a project intended to regulate the Moraca River. However, this initiative has been criticized for failing to protect the river and its vital ecosystem, leading to significant environmental degradation. Zoran Lakusic, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Regional Water Supply Board, highlighted concerns about the long-term impact of these decisions on one of the country’s most important water sources.

Lakusic emphasized that the degradation of the Moraca River cannot be attributed to isolated incidents or administrative inefficiencies. Instead, he framed it as a continuous pattern of decisions shrouded in legality and public interest that have ultimately resulted in lasting harm. In 2017, the Ministry of Agriculture introduced a moratorium on gravel extraction from the Moraca River, which was ostensibly meant to protect the river and the Bolje Sestre spring.

Yet, the outcomes have been troubling. “The ban on extraction has opened the door to a more sophisticated form of devastation through the so-called ‘regulation of the Moraca River,’” Lakusic stated. “Instead of investing in preserving the river’s natural dynamics, the funds were used for intensive interventions that caused greater damage than previous illegal gravel extraction.”

The scientific community has repeatedly warned that the regulation project disrupts the natural hydrodynamics of the Moraca River, affecting underground water flows and diminishing the output of the Bolje Sestre spring. Lakusic noted these warnings were based on hydrological and geological analyses, yet they have had little impact on the institutions responsible for decision-making.

A particularly alarming statistic is that the capital city of Podgorica earned only €3.91 from gravel extraction in 2016, a figure that Lakusic described as a symbol of institutional failure in protecting public interest. “When the devastation of the river and the threat to water supply are reduced to a few euros, it becomes clear that the issue lies not in a lack of regulations, but in their conscious undermining,” he explained.

The moratorium, coupled with inadequate and selective oversight, has ironically led to an increase in illegal activities. While formal inspections existed on paper, the Moraca River continued to be deepened, with gravel extracted without clear records, effectively privatizing economic benefits. “The consequences of such activities do not remain confined to private interests; they have been transferred to the state, resulting in long-term and difficult-to-repair effects,” Lakusic added.

He emphasized that the question of accountability extends beyond moral or political dimensions. According to Montenegro’s Criminal Code, environmental damage is classified as a criminal offense. Despite the scale of the damage, serious investigations and legal proceedings have been notably absent. “This lack of response further undermines the very idea of a rule of law,” Lakusic remarked.

The calculations are stark and disheartening. The state invested €24 million in a project that did not stop the devastation but instead legitimized it. Concurrently, illegal gravel extraction has generated substantial private profits while public interests remain unprotected. The results are disrupted ecosystems, a compromised Bolje Sestre spring, and a serious threat to the water supply of Montenegro’s coastal regions.

The erosion of the Moraca River is visible to the naked eye and can be observed in satellite imagery. Less apparent but equally important is the responsibility of institutions that had the knowledge, authority, and resources to prevent such a scenario but failed to act. Until accountability is established for those who made decisions, signed projects, and oversaw implementations, the Moraca River will symbolize a system in which the state finances its own degradation through negligence and irresponsibility.