The spectacular scenery of Montenegro shows mountainous forest areas taking up to almost 54 percent of the total land area, offering Montenegrins income possibilities varying from firewood to non-timber forest products, such as wild mushrooms, and tourism. The forestry sector contributes to the development of the national economy (six to eight percent of total Gross National Income) and ten percent of the poorest communities, often small self-subsistence farmers, depend heavily on forest resources for their livelihood.

Exploitation of non-timber forest products can have a tremendous impact on the lives of the rural population where it often is the sole source of income. Moreover, managed in a sustainable way, non-timber forest products will provide long-term income. Potential beneficiaries are the 20,000-30,000 villagers who gather these products and an estimated 50,000 (small) private forest owners. They belong to the poorest ten percent of Montenegro’s population living mainly in the underdeveloped North of the country and are the target group of SNV’s Montenegro strategy. They may further benefit from tourism activities, partly as a result of improved forest management.

SNV, together with the Luxembourg-sponsored development organization FODEMO (Forestry Development of Montenegro), assisted the Montenegro Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management in formulating a formal forestry policy aiming at creating a framework for the new Forest Law and Strategy supporting sustainable forest management in Montenegro and complying with the standards and principles leading to European Union accession. It was only a start as the policy was to also create a new approach to developing national policies aiming at improved governance and more equal income opportunities.

With its eye on local realities and concrete results SNV played a strong role in the design and implementation of the process of policy writing, safeguarding stakeholder involvement, transparency and ownership at the local level. At the same time managing the expectations at the Ministry, convincing it to take control and accept ownership in the formulation of the policy, and steering towards a wider view going beyond the traditional focus on logging and timber production.

The National Forestry Policy has shifted thinking from a purely technical production approach towards a rural development one. It therefore not only incorporated forest production aspects focusing on logging and timber production, but also included private forestry, non-timber forest production, poverty reduction and social inclusion. The policy intends to strengthen the private forestry sector through regulations related to concessions and provision of extension services to the private forest owners. Overall the NFP represents the initial steps of the Montenegrin forestry sector to move towards national forestry management that meets European standards and requirements.

“It was a very inspiring process which gave us a great opportunity to influence the National Forest Policy. We got the chance to ventilate our opinions and visions with others. Now it is up to us to start the implementation,” says Miodrag Bakić, member of the Private Forest Owners Association. In fact the Private Forest Owners were directly responsible for the final “Policy Statement” on private forest management. Another important outcome of their strong involvement is the establishment of eight Private Forest Owners Associations created at municipality level. More associations are to be established in 2008.

Key local actors involved, like the Private Forest Owners, originated from all segments of society including municipalities, non-governmental organisations and institutions related to forestry and the protection of nature. Initially they were quite reluctant to articulate their interests, but they soon took the lead in new initiatives and persuaded government representatives to include their vision in the policy. A great learning platform for all involved. Blažo Jokanović, representative of the Ministry of Forestry, proudly proclaimed the National Forestry Policy to be the result of a democratic multi-stakeholder process:"The Ministry will use this method for future work such as the creation of the national forestry strategy, the preparation of national management plans and forest laws which will start very soon. This approach guarantees high quality documents and creates a learning environment. Citizens feel commitment and want to realise its goals.”

The full involvement of the Government triggered the start of stakeholder consultations. Fifteen stakeholder workshops were conducted in all regions of Montenegro with around 420 representatives from different interest groups mapping the main issues and concerns during the often very constructive and lively discussions. As Private Forest Owner Milenko Zejak points out: “This was the prime time opportunity for us to participate in meetings with representatives of the ministry, forestry institutions and other forestry industry - all sitting at the same table.” The stakeholder workshops were followed by community meetings for proper public interaction. Those public hearings showed that responsible high-level officials were open to different views and at the same time emphasizing that compromises had to be made.

“We expect better forest management that will result in a sustainable use of forest resources” says  Dragan Roganović of the Centre for Nature Protection. “We hope that the environmental approach will be high on the agenda bringing better conditions for tourism development and nature protection. It would prove that Montenegro is an ecological sound country.” SNV will continue its focus on joint forest management and income opportunities, as an interaction between private forest owners association and local government institutions.

Direct outcomes of the NFP will be newly developed laws and strategies in the Montenegro Forest Programme based on the National Strategy for sustainable development and adopting its main goals:

·          Accelerate economic development and decrease regional discrepancies in development

·          Reduce poverty; provide equality and equity in access to resources and services

·          Provide efficient control of pollution and sustainable management of natural resources

·          Improve governance and public participation; mobilize all stakeholders with capacity development on all levels

·          Preserve cultural diversities and identities