The National Strategy for Integrated Coastal Zone Management of Montenegro (ICZM) defines the measures for building the national administrative, professional and scientific capacity of the institutions dealing with research and monitoring which are of importance for a multidisciplinary assessment of the state and monitoring of the Montenegrin marine ecosystem. In order to improve the national programme of monitoring of the marine ecosystem and align it with relevant EU and UN requirements, it is necessary to foreseen EcAp introduction into marine environment's assessment and monitoring with the aim of achieving good environmental status (GES) of the marine ecosystem. The existing regulations does not provide a comprehensive IMAP implementation, with the exception of individual provisions, such as the Law on Environment in which the legal grounds for the implementation of the improved programme of monitoring of marine environment have been laid down. Main objectives are to establish and preserve the good environmental status of the marine ecosystem of Montenegro, including the alignment of the existing national legislation with the requirements of IMAP, MSFD, the European Union's Bathing Water Directive and Decision on Regional plan "Criteria and Standards for bathing waters quality in the framework of the implementation of Article 7 of the LBS Protocol" (IG 20/9) by 2019. In order to develop a Monitoring Programme of monitoring Marine Environment in accordance with IMAP requirements it is necessary to establish the monitoring of biodiversity and habitat status, non-indigenous and invasive species, continue monitoring of eutrophication, establish monitoring of changes in hydrological characteristics and conditions in the coastal area and of physical changes of coastal landscapes (urbanisation, erosion...), continue implementation of the monitoring contaminants at hot spots and sensitive locations (sea, sediment and biota) and their biological response through controls of biomarkers, and microbiological water pollution, by defining trends of pollution and the effects of measures being undertaken in the field of waste water and solid waste management, develop a special monitoring programme for marine litter inputs in accordance with IMAP methodology, definition of the monitoring of underwater noise.
Laboratories of the institutions should be additionally equipped, staff trained on introducing new elements of marine environment monitoring programme, and additional equipment procured for field activities and monitoring stations to monitor effluent inputs and nutrients input via tributaries The proposed project has been designed to fill in the gaps in the existing monitoring programme of the marine environment, including the improvement of the existing regulatory framework. Following the implementation of this project, a basis would be set up for monitoring and reporting on the state of marine environment in an integrated manner, in accordance with the Barcelona Convention requirements, as well as contribute to the adequate MSFD transposition and implementation.