Concessionaires stronger than the state
Both large and small wood processors have been destroyed. The model is simple - cut and sell. For years, shortcomings have been pointed out, and nothing has changed. Today, those who point to the damage of state property are blamed, not those who damage it. The forests are devastated, and it is high time to react and save whatever can still be saved - our interlocutors state categorically
Several small wood processors who contacted Portal ETV say that the salvation of Montenegro’s forests lies in establishing a state-owned company for forest management, but only on the condition that management positions are not filled „along party lines or by personnel from the 'forest mafia', which would then continue ruthless exploitation and devastation of the forests“.
- We fully support Andrija Delić (State Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management) and Ranko Kankaraš (Head of the Forestry Directorate). Their actions are aimed at saving Montenegro’s forests and confronting the forest mafia and concessionaires who mercilessly plunder them - they state.
The Law on Forests provides for the establishment of a state-owned company for forest management, but the Government has yet to fulfill this legal obligation.
WOOD PROCESSORS DESTROYED
They warn that the current leadership of the Forest and Hunting Grounds Management Administration and its regional units has merely continued old practices.
- There is manipulation with decisions on firewood allocations, decisions on gifting technical timber - who authorized them to give away state property? All of these data are hidden. For firewood, there are five or six decisions issued in a single person’s name. It is also questionable who decided who should receive firewood and who should not. Inspectors conducting oversight come from the Forest Administration itself, how can they objectively supervise their own employer? There was no real oversight, the problem lies in abuse of orders. Technicians and forest rangers had to do as instructed by their superiors or risk losing their jobs. Timber allocated through concessions is now being resold, which is not permitted under concession contracts, yet no one controls the major concessionaires. Healthy forests were cut down, while diseased trees were left standing - they say.
Wood processing, they warn, has collapsed due to this method of forest management.
- Both large and small wood processors have been ruined. The model is cut and sell. For years, shortcomings have been pointed out, and nothing happened. Today, those who point to damage to state property are blamed, not those who commit it. The forests are devastated, and it is the last moment to react and save whatever can be saved - the interlocutors emphasize.
They claim that entire forest compartments have even been sold to a concessionaire from Serbia, but they hope that Delić and Kankaraš will investigate and prosecute all of this.
FIVE OR SIX DECISIONS IN ONE NAME
- On the lists of those who received firewood and technical timber, there are individuals who received three, four, or five decisions. There are engineers and forest rangers on those lists, and I believe some of them are not even aware that they were listed as recipients. The greatest abuse starts with fictitious shortage reports and decisions on allocating firewood and technical timber. Why is it still unknown who received timber in 2023, 2024, and 2025 - our interlocutors ask angrily.
They explain that they are still not ready to publicly reveal their identities, as the forest mafia remains powerful, recalling a recent statement by Andrija Delić, who said that inspectors were threatened and even shot at during controls of forest exploitation in Berane and Rožaje.
- When inspectors are confronted with firearms, imagine what they would do to us. But these inspections will not stop. In the spring, border-area forest compartments will also be investigated - they add.
They claim that forests in the territory of Rožaje are controlled by a single family, and that foresters cannot take any action without their approval.
- With the introduction of concessions in 2006, the entire wood-processing sector was destroyed. Since then, practically six companies have dominated the sector in Montenegro. Never before was standing timber paid at prices like this - fir at 10 to 17 euros, beech at 3 to 7 euros - only to later sell a cubic meter of fir wood for a 100 euros. In not a single compartment was there a proper handover - no acceptance, no clearance by inspections. Fines ranged from a few hundred euros to a maximum of 1.000 euros. And everyone was satisfied - the ETV Portal’s interlocutors say.
They are also outraged with the Forestry Institute, claiming that it „neither visits the forests nor monitors what is happening in Montenegro’s forests“.
INTRODUCE BAR CODES
Concessionaires, they say, leave behind devastated forests.
- Diseased, uprooted, half-rotten trees remain - trees that have reached the end of their life cycle. Massive, heavy machinery enters the forests, often when the ground is soaked after snow and rain. When they haul timber out, the paths are left full of huge holes, almost like pits. In the past, when responsible forest management existed, only tractors were allowed, which caused far less damage and preserved the ecosystem. Now concessionaires use machines with over 200 horsepower, dragging 30-40 cubic meters at once. We cannot even count how many young trees are destroyed - they explain.
They believe the state-owned forestry company should deal „exclusively with forest rehabilitation through remediation measures and stockpile sales“.
- Stockpiles would include first, second and third-class timber, firewood, pellet wood, etc. Priority should be given to the local population, and surpluses should be offered through tenders. If there are excess quantities, they can also be exported. Bar codes should be introduced on tags so that during inspections, when a truck is stopped, a check via an app immediately shows where the tag originated. New marking hammers should be introduced, along with a centralized marking bureau. Every delivery note would be photographed and sent via an app to the marking bureau - delivery note number, tag number, number of trees, cubic volume, route - they propose.
They also claim that opposition to forming a state-owned forestry company comes from individuals within the Forest Administration who are „in deals with concessionaires“.
- There would no longer be privileges for concessionaires. They would no longer hold marking hammers, tags, or logbooks themselves - the entire system would be changed. Retail sales to citizens would be abolished, and forest reselling would end. Only a state-owned forest management company can save Montenegro’s forests - the ETV Portal’s interlocutors conclude.
CRIMINAL COMPLAINT
On 30 January, several citizens of Rožaje, State Secretary Andrija Delić, and Forestry Directorate Head Ranko Kankaraš filed a criminal complaint with the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office in Rožaje over illegal logging in several compartments of the Paučinske Forests Management Unit and one compartment in the Lovničke Forests in Rožaje.
- The criminal complaint is the result of a large number of reports of illegal logging in the Rožaje area submitted by local citizens, and it is the first in a series of criminal complaints that will be filed in the coming period, after the collection of evidence and relevant documentation for other forest management units - Delić and Kankaraš announced on Tuesday.
They called on the competent authorities, including the National Security Council, to act urgently and with due diligence, stressing that sufficient evidence and warnings already exist that forests in Montenegro are continuously disappearing due to illegal logging.
The criminal complaint was filed against Forest Administration Director Miloš Rajković, his assistant Danko Popović, former director of the Rožaje unit of the Forest Administration Alen Kalač, and the chief forest protection engineer in Rožaje Rifat Kalač.
They are charged with „illegal logging amounting to devastation and clearing of forests, through high-intensity logging not planned as a regular form of forest regeneration, and the marking of trees for felling contrary to forest management plans“.
In statements to Television E, Rajković and Alen Kalač categorically denied any connection to illegal activities, accusing those who filed the complaint of engaging in unlawful dealings themselves and claiming they are victims of political persecution.
The relevant minister, Vladimir Joković, has remained silent, as has Prime Minister Milojko Spajić.
Millions of cubic meters of timber, Andrija Delić recently stated, and hundreds of millions of euros (280 million euros) have ended up in someone’s pockets - vertically and horizontally. He also recalled that satellites of the European Space Agency recorded that approximately 600 km² of forest were cut down over a four-year period.