Serbia and Montenegro

The country of serbia and Montenegro has two member states: The state of Montenegro and the state of Serbia. Serbia includes the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina and the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, which is currently under an international administration. Serbia and Montenegro is situated in southeast Europe on the Balkan Peninsula with access to the Adriatic Sea. It covers a territory of 39,654 square miles (102,173 square kilometers). The country borders on Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania, and Macedonia.

Serbia and Montenegro has a population of 8,118,146 inhabitants (excluding Kosovo and Metohija). The capital of the country is Belgrade. Serbia and Montenegro is a multinational state with 37 different nationalities. Most of the population (67 percent) are of south Slavic origin. Geographically, Serbia and Montenegro are very different. In the north of Serbia is the rich fertile land of the Pannonian plains, which rise up to 328 feet (100 meters) above sea level; the central part of Serbia is characterized by hills and mountains. Montenegro is largely mountainous. In the southwest, the country is bounded by the Adriatic Sea. The climate is continental in the north and Mediterranean in the south.

Most of Serbia and Montenegro's rivers drain into the Danubian system, while others flow into [Page 1589]the Black Sea. The most important rivers are the Danube, Drina, Tisa, Great Morava, and Tara. The Tisa and the Danube are connected by the Grande Canal, which is 76 miles (123 kilometers) long.

Serbia and Montenegro is one of the most important European centers of biodiversity: 74 percent of all European birds can be found there, as well as some 67 percent of all European mammals. Also, more than 50 percent of European fish and about 39 percent of European vascular plants are found in this country and its coastal waters.

During the NATO bombings of the country in spring 1999, the environment was seriously affected. According to the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe, NATO bombings caused a high level of pollution around the main military targets, particularly the chemical industry plants. More than 1,000 tons of ethylene dichloride and nearly 1,000 tons of hydrogen chloride spilled from the Pancevo petrochemical complex into the Danube. Vinyl chloride monomers reached a concentration of 10,000 times above the acceptable level. Air pollution, and soil and drinking-water pollution, are currently very high in Serbia and Montenegro. Scientists anticipate serious effects on human health, including long-term effects from toxic carcinogenic substances and radiation.

Economic and social development in Serbia and Montenegro officially accords with the principles of environmental protection. Serbian law has placed 6.5 percent of the territory under an environmental protection regime, and this is expected to increase to 10 percent by 2010.

In 1991, the Parliament of Montenegro adopted a declaration proclaiming Montenegro the first ecological state in the world. The Constitution defined Montenegro as a “democratic, social and ecological state.” The Montenegrin Environmental Law states that the Republic is committed to preserving environmental resources and improving environmental quality, reducing threats to human life and health from pollution, and remedying and preventing the harmful environmental impacts of pollution; the overall aim is to safeguard and improve the quality of life for all.

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