Category: events

Climate change and anthropogenic influence are irreversibly destroying the archaeological record on land and underwater. The disappearance of archaeological landscapes, which hold answers to important questions about our past, represents a permanent loss for science and cultural heritage in general. The loss of character, uniqueness, and authenticity of landscapes has irreversibly disrupted the connection in creating and shaping the spatial identity of communities and individuals.

Only by understanding the causes and consequences of the interaction between humans and the environment can create an effective system of their integral protection. Therefore, the identification and preservation of hidden and lost archaeological landscapes are imposed as an obligation of modern society.

While a doctoral student on the topic of “Archaeological site of Lustica and Grbalj” will talk about the archaeological site of the Boka Bay, the tireless archaeologist Miloš B. Petričević and his colleague, archaeologist focused primarily on the research of coastal cultural landscapes, Jelena Čelebić, will focus their presentation on lost coastal cultural landscapes, whose disappearance is reflected in the loss of valuable artifacts of the past, as well as in the disappearance of skills that built them.

“Man in the landscape, landscape in man” is what best describes every coastal cultural region. Rapid and unfortunately drastic changes in the landscape of the Boka Bay and the entire coast, caused by haphazard, unplanned, and megalomaniacal construction, have largely affected not only crafts and the economy but also the overall perception of the sea.

Coastal or maritime cultural landscapes are defined by material and immaterial remains that testify to the predominantly coastal life of people. The goal of the concept of coastal cultural landscapes is to offer an approach to studying the sea and the coast through the engagement of various disciplines, including not only archaeology, history, social anthropology, ethnology, and language, but also other natural sciences such as geology and geomorphology.

The “Delfin” Sailing Club, in collaboration with the Maritime Faculty of Kotor and the Institute of Marine Biology at the University of Montenegro, is organizing a one-day conference on the topic of “Boka Bay as a Sustainable Nautical Destination.” The conference will gather representatives from relevant state institutions and experts from both the country and abroad. The aim of the conference is to better and more comprehensively examine the perspectives of the Boka Bay’s waters from the aspect of maritime traffic safety, as well as the protection of biodiversity and the cultural landscape of the Boka coast.

The conference will include two panels, which will be opened with welcome addresses by representatives of the “Delfin” Sailing Club, Dean of the Maritime Faculty of Kotor, Prof. Dr. Špiro Ivošević, and the Director of the Institute of Marine Biology at the University of Montenegro in Kotor, Dr. Mirko Đurović.

The theme of the first panel is “Planning and Safety of Navigation in Boka Bay,” and it will begin with lectures by relevant experts in the field. Our guest is Captain Siniša Orlić, Director of the Directorate for Maritime Safety at the Ministry of the Sea, Transport, and Infrastructure of the Republic of Croatia, an experienced expert who will share experiences from the Republic of Croatia. This will be followed by a lecture by Dr. Maja Škurić from the Maritime Faculty of Kotor, who will give a presentation on the topic of “Possibilities for the Development of Passenger Ferry Transport.”

In the panel discussion that follows, representatives from the Maritime Safety and Port Management Administration, Kotor Port Authority, Kotor Port, Porto Montenegro Marina and Portonovi, and publicist and journalist specialized in maritime issues, Mr. Siniša Luković, will participate. The moderator of this panel will be Ms. Maja Mijušković, Director of the Directorate for Maritime Traffic, Navigation Safety, Pollution Protection, and Maritime Economy.

The afternoon panel is dedicated to the protection of biodiversity and cultural heritage, titled “Impact of Maritime Traffic on the Ecosystem and Cultural Landscape of Boka Bay.” Introductory lectures will be given by Dr. Jasmina Obhođaš from the Croatian Ruđer Bošković Institute and Dr. Radmila Gagić from the Maritime Faculty of Kotor. The moderator of the panel discussion that follows will be Dr. Vesna Mačić from the Institute of Marine Biology.

Participation in the panel discussion has been confirmed by representatives of the Maritime Safety and Port Management Administration, Institute of Marine Biology, Environmental Protection Agency, Ministry of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism, Centre for Sustainable Spatial Development “Expeditio” from Kotor, and the Public Enterprise for the Management of Maritime Property of Montenegro.