The Bojana River is an interstate watercourse, which basin covers the total surface area of about 19,000 km2, from the territories of Montenegro, Serbia, i.e., Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece and Albania. The share of waters from Montenegro in the total balance of the Bojana is estimated at around 35%. The mean flow of the Bojana is around 680m3/sec, making it the second biggest tributary of the Adriatic Sea. Due to high water level changes, flooding of the surrounding areas both on the Montenegrin and Albanian side and thus, of marine litter input into the sea, are very frequent occurrences (extreme floods in 2010 caused transport of marine litter inputted via the Bojana River to the Croatian shore as well). Bojana also receives wastewater from the town of Shkodra, which are not treated, as well as other solid floating waste from the peripheral surfaces. Decelerated flow and closing of the riverbed's profile at the mouth of the river (due to sediment deposits and relatively small depths) reinforce pollution effects, as well as numerous raft houses on both banks discharging foul water, solid waste and packaging directly into the watercourse. Monitoring of pollution load input via tributaries is an integral part of the programme of the monitoring marine ecosystem of Montenegro, but it did not include marine litter input except data on the contents of suspended matters. Pollution above the permitted limits (as compared to the prescribed surface water quality classes) has been registered in the Bojana and Sutorina rivers.
Extreme precipitation, especially in the Bay of Kotor, cause water overflows from the beds of these streams and local character flooding which result in a large solid waste input into the sea. According to the vulnerability assessment of the coastal zone which was conducted within the CAMP programme, improper disposal of solid waste stands out as one of the main pressures on land, which includes marine litter quantities.
Main objectives of the project are:
- Prevent flooding of the Bojana River by constantly maintaining and renewing the levees on both sides of the river bed and thus prevent inputs of large quantities of floating waste (marine litter) into the sea; In the framework of The Buna/Bojana Transboundary Integrated Management Plan, implement joint activities in cooperation between Montenegro and Albania aimed at preventing or reducing the input of solid and liquid municipal waste relating to the removal of artificial barriers in the watercourse and its tributaries.
- Given the importance of preserving the quality of therapeutic mud in Igalo Bay and of mineral water springs, priority is to connect all the settlements in Sutorina Field and tourist settlement Njivice to the sewage network as part of a separate project.
- Implement measures to remediate and clean-up selected torrential streams and numerous storm sewer system channels.
- Introduce the obligation for newly erected illegal settlements on the Bojana River to install home wastewater treatment devices, and organize the collection and removal of municipal solid waste.