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Support to the Forestry sector in Montenegro, almost the end of era.
After more than ten years of Luxembourg bilateral support to the Montenegrin forestry sector, two closure events, one for the Project YUG/012 on 26 September 2013 and one for Project YUG/812 on 27 September 2013, sounded the end of this long-lasting support.
Following a first project, YUG/004, Forestry Development in Montenegro I (April 2004 to April 2006), Project YUG/012, Forestry Development in Montenegro II, or better known as FODEMO II, continued previous efforts with positive effect on the change process of Montenegro´s forestry sector.
FODEMO II made a significant contribution towards the finalization of the National Forest Inventory; supported new Forest Management Planning procedures and training of state forestry staff in new procedures and skills; provided expertise for the preparation of the National Forest Policy, the new Forest Law and various by-Laws on Forest Seed Production, as well as for the National Action Plan for combating illegal activities in the forestry sector. FODEMO II also supported a wood fuel study carried out by the Statistical Office of Montenegro, the installation of wood biomass heating system in public buildings and private households and the development and implementation of the Woodfuel Integrated Supply/Demand Overview Mapping tool (WISDOM). All these and others contributed to improve the institutional and technical framework conditions for sustainable forestry sector development in Montenegro.
Since end 2010, combined efforts of FODEMO II and the European Union (EU) co-funded Project YUG/812, also managed by LuxDev under a delegated cooperation Agreement, further contributed to the strengthening of capacity building in the forestry sector. This support, largely co-funded by the EU under the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA), with also national and Luxembourg contributions, successfully aimed at strengthening capacities of the Montenegro forestry sector through the establishment of, and training in, sustainable forest management systems in line with EU standards, specifically forthcoming EU Regulations on Placing Forest Produce on the EU Market, and the EU Regulation on Rural Development.
The three projects were co-implemented by the national forestry Institutions and Lux-Development. Closure event thanks went to the donors, the European Union and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, but of course also to the national counterpart and project teams who made this all happen.
It is now upon the national forestry institutions to wisely use and build on the developed instruments and tools for further improvement of the sector towards EU accession. However, Luxembourg Development cooperation, as to fortify the sustainability of past actions, showed readiness to provide a last support through the financing of a one-year technical assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development until the second half of 2014.
For more information on the Project YUG/812 closure event, please do also refer to the Delegation of the UE to Montenegro’s website:
http://www.delmne.ec.europa.eu/code/navigate.php?Id=2613
