The Defense Ministry's plan to form a military training ground in Sinjajevina received support from other government departments - ministries of agriculture, culture and sustainable development, and the government rejected citizens’ request who oppose the existence of a training ground for soldiers on that mountain.

The government today adopted information on the e-petition "Save the Sinjajevina - proclaim Sinjajevina a protected area and nature park", which received the support of at least 3,000 votes (3,324) through the portal "Citizens' Voice - e-petition", and then forward it to Predrag Boskovic ministry for consideration on 5^th August.

The Civic Initiative "Save the Sinjajevina", in addition to declaring the mountain a protected area, called for the suspension of the plan for the formation of polygons, for the mountain to be left to the cattle-breeders, to establish it as a tourist destination, and to protect the cultural heritage, tradition and archeological sites already existing in Sinjajevina.

Ministry of Defense recently told “Vijesti” that they would forward the petition to the Government when they received the opinion of other institutions, which have jurisdiction over issues related to citizens' initiative.

According to today's information on the e-petition, from the department of Milutin Simovic, they submitted opinion of the Forest Administration, stating that the site where the formation of the military training ground in Sinjajevina is planned "is not covered by the Forest Management Program".

They also added that "it is a vacant area with no plants of any character and level and that there are no obstacles to the realization of the project in question."

The opinion of the Ministry of Culture states that there are "no cultural property protected by law or property with potential cultural values".

The Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism (MORT) agrees with the plan for the formation of a military training ground in the part of the quotes from the Spatial Plan, which defines that "the selection and determination of complexes and locations necessary for the functioning of the defense system shall be made on the basis of legal and strategic documents regulating the area of the defense of Montenegro ".

The Government had earlier adopted the Strategic Defense Review and 2019-2028 Long-Term Defense Development Plan. It defines, among other things, that one of the Ministry of Defense's key priorities is to establish a military training ground at Sinjajevina "which must provide conditions for tactical exercises of units up to the rank of battalion and combat firing with infantry’s weapons and artillery of the Army."

At a session two weeks ago, the government adopted the information on establishing the training grounds for the Army in Sinjajevina.

The Ministry of Defense then gave its consent for the temporary use of about 7,500 hectares of land for the purpose of forming the shooting range, until the adoption of the relevant planning documents, with the obligation of the MoD and MORT to make a zero environmental assessment and define a methodology for regular annual environmental monitoring at that location.

The defense minister said at the time that the formation of the Sinajevina polygons did not contradict the concept of affirming the mountain as a regional nature park.

Boskovic cited Germany as an example, stating that there were 693 military training sites in the country and that they were all included in Natura 2000, which is a key EU document on biodiversity protection.

Text by Damira Kalac, on September 19th, 2019, read more at Vijesti

Landscaping and environmental protection have long been the focus of Telekom's social activities, both through individual actions and through support for similar projects through the contest "Za svako dobro".

As technology transforms our everyday lives and everything we do, Telekom has decided to take advantage of its opportunities and make it easier for citizens to get involved in the landscaping of Podgorica while rewarding them by introducing additional options into the application MOJE DRVO (MY TREE).

The new features of application MY TREE, developed by Telekom in collaboration with Amplitudo, now allows citizens to donate less than the total price of a seedling through two clicks on their mobile phones, and invite and organize friends to collect money to buy seedlings. 

Namely, thanks to the new features of the application, citizens can donate 3 or 5 euros that go to a joint landscaping fund for Podgorica. In return, Telekom's postpaid and prepaid customers who join the landscaping campaign receive gigabytes, i.e., 1GB for 3 euros donations and 3GB for 5 euros, which last 15 days.

By donating, users can share the invitation to a joint action on social networks, organizing their friends, neighbors and colleagues to join the action and raise funds for the seedlings together.

"We live in a world of new opportunities. Technology is undoubtedly changing the way we live and work, and it is up to us to recognize the opportunities it offers us. Amplitudo, the company that developed this application, recognized that there was space but also citizens' interest to give something special to their city and to follow up how much they contributed to the cleaner air by buying the seedlings. We at Telekom realized that seedlings could be made more accessible - which will further encourage citizens to be a part of this story - but also to spread the action through social networks and make it easier for the community to be part of it. That is why the money for the tree no longer has to be donated at once, and for each donation we donate gigabytes to raise awareness of the importance of a healthy, green environment, "said Gordana Spahic, Marketing Manager at the Montenegrin Telekom.

Telekom also notes that they are working with Amplitude to introduce other Montenegrin cities to the map of the application, which, they say, is of great interest to municipalities.

The application was enhanced in partnership with Amplitudo, which launched the application more than a year ago in collaboration with the Capital.

Text by Promo, on September 19th, 2019, read more at Vijesti

September 20, 2019 - Omar Torres, one of the most prominent guitarists of our time, is playing this evening, September 20, in Tivat. His Performance in Hotel Zebra in Donja Lastva starts at 7.30 pm.

Tom Waits guitarist, winner of the Jimmy Hendrix guitar competition, student of Juan Serrano, flamenco virtuoso, salsa, blues, rock and funk master and just an incredible musician comes to Montenegro, announces the organizer.

Omar Torres literally burst into the music scene. In the Seattle Opera Concert Hall during the Bumbershoot Festival, he stepped out with someone else's guitar in his hands and won the Jimmy Hendrix National Guitar Competition.

After that, he formed a group that played a mixture of funk, rock, blues, as well as Afro-Cuban rhythms, which became popular on the west coast of the United States.

Then Torres became interested in the music of Andalusian gypsies, flamenco and Cuban salsa. Flamenco taught him to play the famous guitarist Juan Serrano. As a result, Torres became a skilled classical guitarist and flamenco performer.

The talent of the musician was noticed by the cult artist Tom Waits. He invited Omar to his band as a concert guitarist for the 2008 European and American Glitter and Doom tour.

The guitarist shared the stage with artists such as Jethro Tull, Tony Levin, Bill Laswell, Kinky, Sidestepper, Pancho Sanchez, Mumiy Troll, Nortec Collective, Francisco Aguabella, Kanye West and many others.

Omar Torres created his own musical style, combining blues, rumba, funk and various very unexpected musical experiments. His album «A Night of Serious Drinking» (2012) was produced by Tony Berg, who previously worked with artists such as Michael Penn, Bob Dylan, Pink, Public Image Ltd. Among the latest projects of Omar — «Cancion Maldita», is a collaboration with the famous Mexican DJ Roberto Mendoza.

Entry ticket for Omar Torres concert, scheduled for this evening at the Zebra hotel, costs 10 Euros.

Source: WhatWhere.Tivat

19 September 2019 - Climate change is the key challenge of our time. Our generation was the first to experience an accelerated temperature rise around the world, and it will probably be the last, says the "Initiative for Stepping up Climate Ambitions," i.e., Declaration, which was signed by numerous world leaders – Milo Đukanović among others.

Đukanović will be the head of the Montenegrin delegation which is going to take part in a General debate scheduled to run from 24 to 30 September in New York. Montenegro will present the progress it has made in the implementation of sustainable UN agenda. It will also outline the plan for activities aimed at contributing to the global response to climate change.

"We, heads of states and governments, signatories to this Declaration, firmly believe that effective measures against climate change are necessary. We are sure that essential measures will help us lead our planet into a safe and prosperous future," reads the Declaration.

World leaders called on the international community and all signatories to Paris agreement to act together, with determination and speed, in order to stop the global climate crisis.

"Let’s use numerous possibilities and undertake measures against climate change. Let’s create a positive future for our planet," as noted in the Declaration, reports CdM.

Effects of this change have been documented and are felt everywhere in the world, like the dramatic increase in heat waves, floods, droughts and landslides, glacier shrinking and rise in sea level.

Declaration points out that the climate crisis concerns us all. Climate change affects the global economy, endangers different sectors, and is a serious threat to peace and stability in the world.

"In December 2015, the world witnessed an important moment of hope and trust: In COP 21, global community adopted Paris agreement with the aim of keeping the increase in the global average temperature below 2 °C while trying to limit temperature rise to 1,5 °C," pointed out the data in the Declaration.

Measures taken by the international community are not enough for achieving long-term goals established by the Paris agreement.

"On the basis of scientific and technical expertise, as well as financial funds, we have a collective task to do anything we can to stop climate change and adapt to its negative effects, while respecting the need for reasonable transition of our societies. In the light of findings of Special report of Inter-government panel on climate change and results of COP 24, we urge all Parties to make 2019 year of climate ambitions and attend the Climate Summit which will be convened by the UN Secretary-General," as was concluded on this occasion.

World leaders stress it is important to make sure that all financial flows are in accordance with the path leading to the reduction in greenhouse emissions. It is essential to request that all financial institutions harmonize their investments with long term goals set out in Paris agreement, intensify and increase investments in energy efficiency renewable energy, and to cut the investments in the economy of fossil fuels economy.

Read more news about lifestyle at TMN's dedicated page.

19 September 2019 - Montenegro will initiate all available mechanisms at the international level to protect the Cijevna River, as Albania did not respond to Montenegro’s concerns about the potential impact of mini-hydropower plants on the Cijevna. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Montenegro stated that Albania did not comply with the obligations arising from the Water Convention that the two countries signed last year in Skadar.

President of the Interstate Commission of Montenegro and Albania for Cooperation in Water Management and Managing Director of Water Management Directorate Momčilo Blagojević said that Montenegro would initiate all available mechanisms defined in international conventions, reports Cafe del Montenegro.

"Montenegro will initiate all available mechanisms to solve this issue by informing all the responsible secretariats in the Helsinki Committee, as well as the European Commission about planned activities on the Cijevna River that might have a serious impact on Montenegro," Blagojević explained.

He recalled that Montenegro first reacted last year after environmental activists warned that work had begun on the Cijevna riverbed in Albania, and provided footage of pipes placed in the river.

During the mid-August 2019 the Institute for Hydrometeorology and Seismology of Montenegro conducted a research that showed that rivers Morača and Bojana mostly have a 'moderate status', which means that the chemical status in these rivers is not good.

Tara also has a moderate status in terms of water quality, while the water in Ćehotina is of low quality, the research shows. The cleanest river in the country is Cijevna, but the fact that the latest research did not include Piva, which had the highest quality water so far, should be taken into consideration when concluding.

Read more news about lifestyle in Montenegro at TMN's dedicated page.