Durmitor National Park (Montenegro)
The Committee noted that the authorities responsible for the management of this site had submitted to the Secretariat several reports on the potential impacts of the proposed construction of a hydroelectric dam on the Tara River and the pollution of that river by a large asphalt plant situated upstream along the river. The Committee was informed that the Montenegro authorities maintained that the two problems mentioned above had minimal impacts on the conservation of Durmitor and that necessary measures to mitigate those impacts were being taken. In accordance with the Bureau recommendation, the Director of this Park has, in accordance with the wish of the Bureau expressed at its last session, invited a joint UNESCO/IUCN mission to this site and has agreed to provide on-site briefing on the status of the dam construction proposal and pollution problems.
The Committee was also concerned about recent reports regarding the threat caused by a dam adjacent to the Tara River which, if breached, could spill large volumes of toxic material into the river. The Committee instructed the Centre to co-operate with the United Nations Protection Forces (UNPROFOR) to organize an international expert mission to this site and to make a report on the threats to its integrity and necessary mitigation measures to the seventeenth session of the Bureau.