I would not like us to learn the hard way that uncontrolled construction on Spas Hill could lead to a disaster.
With these words, Budva-based environmental ambassador Anđa Budimir is urging the public and authorities to finally take action, as both the situation on the ground and expert findings point to a likely landslide on Spas Hill that could endanger the lives and property of residents in the Budva neighbourhoods of Babin Do and Komoševina. For more than a year, Budimir has been warning that uncontrolled construction on Spas Hill is at the root of the danger, as deforestation and the removal of vegetation destroy root systems that serve as a natural reinforcement holding the soil together. Another major issue is the disruption of natural watercourses, which interferes with the area’s natural drainage system.
“In early February, a large rockslide occurred above the Mogren tunnel gallery. A rock weighing several tons fell onto the roadway. This section of the highway is heavily used, and it was sheer luck that no one was injured. Something similar could happen after any major rainfall, although this particular incident followed a lightning strike the night before. I would not like such events to be what finally makes us understand how dangerous it is to continue urbanizing Spas Hill,” Budimir told the independent media outlet Rmedia.
She agrees with the recent assessment by environmental and civic activist Aleksandar Dragićević, who described Spas Hill as Montenegro’s “collapsed canopy,” arguing that the question is not whether the hill will give way, but when. “For almost a year, Mr. Dragićević and I have been discussing ways to pressure institutions into implementing what the law and scientific studies already require. He has joined me on several field visits. We cannot predict when such a disaster may occur, nor the exact combination of weather conditions that could trigger it. Across the entire Budva Riviera, decades of urbanization pressure call for strategic environmental assessments of all planning documents adopted in previous years,” Budimir explains.
How Did Construction Begin on the Slopes Above Budva and the Mogren and Jaz Beaches?
The process began in 2008 when the Parliament of Montenegro adopted amendments to the Nature Protection Law. Municipalities were tasked with preparing local studies on protected areas, which would then serve as the basis for aligning urban development plans.
However, before the Environmental Protection Agency completed its study in 2009, the local authorities had already adopted urban planning documents. Spas Hill, which has enjoyed protected status since 1968, never received a designated management authority or a management plan, while construction continued unabated. Although a revised Protected Area Study was prepared in 2022, it has never been put forward for public consultation or formally adopted. Meanwhile, large residential buildings continue to rise across the hill.
“Hundreds of thousands of square metres have been built. The side of the hill facing Mogren, which falls within the protected zone identified in both the original study and its revision, has been severely altered. Everything has stalled within the Municipality of Budva, which was supposed to carry out the legal procedure, allocate budget funds and designate a manager for the protected area—either through an existing municipal service or a newly established company,” Budimir notes.
The Municipality of Budva is currently in the process of establishing a spatial planning agency. Until it becomes operational, there is no institution or team of experts capable of addressing amendments or revisions to existing planning documents.
At the same time, the adoption of the Protected Area Study remains pending. Prior to revising the study in 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency issued guidelines to the Municipality of Budva regarding the revision of the local planning study for Spas Hill.
“The Protected Area Study is a collection of scientific findings that we have been refusing to accept for nearly twenty years. Meanwhile, destruction continues at several locations on Spas Hill and could ultimately lead to a catastrophe affecting the lives and property of people living below it,” Budimir emphasizes.
As early as July 1995, the then-Republic Institute for Geological Research issued an expert opinion advising against construction on the slope overlooking Babin Do. “Due to the unfavourable morphological, engineering-geological and hydrogeological characteristics of the terrain in the Babin Do slope area, which represents a fossil landslide, any further construction that could disturb the natural balance of the slope and potentially reactivate the landslide is not recommended,” states the document signed by the Institute’s then director, Dr Miodrag Kaluđerović.
The need to restore the area to its original condition was also highlighted in a report issued by the Environmental Protection Agency on 22 April this year. Neither reports nor expert assessments have halted construction. A massive building in Babin Do has been erected directly on top of a natural channel that carries water down from the hill.
“Interrupting surface water flows effectively disrupts the entire drainage system of the hill. Water sinks underground and re-emerges several times along its course. The natural water channel running through the middle of the hill has been altered. An embankment was built to stop water from flowing downhill naturally, redirecting it at a right angle through a newly excavated and rudimentary channel between 500 and 700 metres long toward the Komoševina settlement,” Budimir explains.
According to her, water inevitably seeks to return to its natural course, which has already caused damage to nearby residents. “In several locations along Osma Street and in the neighbourhood below this enormous structure, water has begun emerging inside people’s homes and through retaining walls. Tiles in bathrooms have started swelling. The consequences of diverting and interfering with natural watercourses are already visible,” she says.
Spas Hill, together with Buljarica, is included in the proposed list of terrestrial Natura 2000 sites because it hosts one of Europe’s habitats of tree spurge. The area is also rich in fungi, while the Mogren caves provide nesting grounds for birds and bats. It represents a highly complex biodiversity system.
The designation of Natura 2000 areas is one of the requirements for closing accession negotiations with the European Union. “My expectations are not high, but I remain optimistic. The greatest hope for Spas itself is the adoption of the Natura 2000 designation, under which Spas has already been proposed as a protected site. In addition, amendments to environmental legislation should more clearly define what may be built in protected areas and under what conditions. Instead of leaving all responsibility to the Environmental Protection Agency through environmental assessments and studies, these issues should be regulated directly by law,” Budimir concludes.
Neđeljko Rudović, journalist and editor-in-chief of the independent media outlet Rmedia
This article was originally published by Rmedia.
This article was produced within the framework of the MediaLit project, implemented by the Centre for Civic Education (CCE) in partnership with the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in North Macedonia, the Tirana Centre for Journalism Excellence in Albania, and the Atlantic Initiative in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The project is funded by the European Union and co-funded by the Ministry of Regional-Investment Development and Cooperation with NGOs of the Government of Montenegro. The content of this article is the sole responsibility of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of CCE, the partner organizations, the European Union, or the Ministry.