The government of Montenegro has designated Tivat Saline (Tivatska solila) (150 hectares, 42°23’37”N 018°42’55”E), a Special Flora and Fauna Reserve located in the coastal strip of Tivat Bay between the rivers Odoljenštica and Koložunja, as its second Wetland of International Importance, joining the Montenegrin portion of Lake Skadar. As summarized by Ramsar’s Laura Máiz-Tomé, the site comprises a centuries-old former salt works and includes the underwater site of Jankove Vode. It is an important resting and feeding area for migratory birds such as Limosa limosa, Numenius arquata, and Aythya nyroca, as well as the regional population of Pygmy Cormorant Phalacrocorax pygmeus. The site also supports such endangered reptile species as Ophisaurus apodus, sea turtles like Caretta caretta, and the endangered amphibian Rana shqiperica. Within the site complex types of halophyte vegetation grow on sludge-clay ground, a type of vegetation which has largely disappeared from the eastern coast of the Adriatic.

Besides the old salt works infrastructure (dyke, canals, etc.), archaeological relics have been identified at the salina and its surroundings, including fragments of Hellenistic-Roman ceramics, mainly amphoras and fragments of Corinthian skyphoi (6th century BC). Hunting activities are allowed in the site. Potential factors threatening the ecological character of this wetland are poaching, pollution, and touristic pressure. A management plan for the site is currently under preparation.

MedWet would like to congratulate the government of Montenegro for this designation. More information on the new Ramsar wetland will be published in our next newsletter.

Source: Ramsar Secretariat