Feasibility Study on Establishing a Transboundary Protected Area Durmitor – Tara Canyon – Sutjeska

The proposed “Durmitor – Tara Canyon – Sutjeska” transboundary protected area is one of the three “priority areas in focus” of the ENVSEC-SEE project, identifi ed during the fi rst sub-regional meeting organised by UNEP in June 2006 in Podgorica. The Durmitor – Tara Canyon – Sutjeska region located at the state border between Bosnia and Herzegovina / Republic of Srpska and Montenegro encompasses areas of unique landscape and natural values for Europe. The common linking landscape feature of the region is the Tara river canyon, being the deepest river gorge in Europe, surrounded by mountain ranges reaching up to 2522 m above the sea level. This region harbours complex and dynamic mountain ecosystems of high biological diversity, a considerable number of natural habitats as well as numerous endemic, relic, rare and threatened fl ora and fauna species, including species of the common European importance having their mainstays in habitats crossed by the state border. The following feasibility study by UNEP-Vienna provides a brief overview on the local context for transboundary cooperation in the Durmitor – Tara Canyon – Sutjeska region, e.g. border context, socio-economic context including tourism as the local economy sector depending on natural assets of the region, and describes the state of the environment of the region and potential threats. The study provides a brief overview of the natural values and protected areas of the region, describes legal and administrative frameworks and compares the development of protected area networks in both neighbouring countries. It describes initiatives aimed at improving the connectivity and continuity of protected area network in both neighbouring countries and the vision for the establishment of transnational ecological corridors in the SEE region.