HORIZONTAL INTEGRATION
Tuesday, 18 August 2020
Ministry in charge: The first National Strategy of Sustainable Development of Montenegro (hereinafter: NSSD) adopted in 2007 was a step towards making an effort to materialize and make concrete the declarative commitment of Montenegro to be an ecological state. In the period of its drafting, it relied on the guidelines and goals set in strategic documents of that time, such as the Directions for Development of Montenegro as an Ecological State, Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy and other strategies at the national level, as well as on the Mediterranean Strategy of Sustainable Development (MSSD), conclusions reached at the two global summits on sustainable development and their key documents (1992 and 2002) and on other instruments for achievement of sustainable development. Since its adoption, the NSSD has been revised in the evaluation process in its part containing the Action Plan when a number of goals, measures and related indicators were revised, which was done in accordance with the reports on implementation and progress made by other programmes, and also in accordance with their results that had been achieved in Montenegro in the meantime. Since the time-frame for implementation of the Action Plan of this Strategy has expired and since many changes have taken place in Montenegro in the meantime, particularly in terms of reforms related to EU integration and harmonization of national legislation with the EU Acquis, and also given that new sustainable development programmes and initiatives have been launched at the national and international levels, conditions are in place for revision of the NSSD which needs to be harmonized with the new policies and strategies, especially global intergovernmental process of defining Post 2015 Agenda.
Stakeholder consultations: The horizontal integration is also assisted by the work of the National Council for Sustainable Development, Climate Changes and Integrated Coastal Zone Management, which was established by the Government in 2002 as a cross-sectoral advisory body on the issues of sustainable development. Since its establishment, the National Council for Sustainable Development, Climate Change and Integrated Coastal Zone Management (NCSDCCICZM) has been chaired by the Prime Minister and composed of representatives of different societal stakeholders. After reforms in 2006, 2008 and 2013 and finally 2015 mandate of the Council as well as in the methods of its work (by introducing the possibility for the Council to set up working groups for specific topics) has been broaden .
In June 2016, the Council will have its first session in the renewed structure. The revised Council will focus more closely on the issue of resource efficiency, climate change and integrated coastal zone management, which is reflected in the change of its name – National Council for Sustainable Development, Climate Change and Integrated Coastal Zone Management. Council is chaired by the President of Montenegro and it has 26 members. The composition of the Council is as follows:
- President of Montenegro
- 5 Ministers
- 1 Representative of the Ministry of Finance
- 2 Representatives of the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism (one of them is Head of the Division for the SD and ICZM as secretary of the Council and another one is Director General of the Directorate for Climate Changes),
- Director of the Hydrometeorological Institute
- Director of the Public Enterprise for Coastal Zone
- 3 mayors (from three different regions of Montenegro),
- 1 representative from Academia
- 3 members of the business sector
- 1 representative of syndicate
- 1 representative of the investors
- 1 representative of banks
- 2 representatives of civil sector
- 3 independent experts (for sustainable development, climate change and integrated coastal zone management)
The Council has 4 working groups:
- WG for revision and monitoring the implementation of the National Strategy for Sustainable Development;
- WG Sustainable Management of Resources;
- WG for mitigation and adaptation to Climate Changes; and
- Fourth working group on integrated coastal zone management is in the process of establishment.
In accordance with the Decision on the establishment of the National Council, the Council usually meets twice a year.