In Montenegro, the practice of transhumance is characteristic of mountain areas such as Sinjajevina, which depend on livestock breeding. Due to restricted summer pasture around permanent villages at lower altitudes, the animals must be relocated in late spring to mountain areas with richer grassland. So, from May until September most of the family moves up to mountain pastures, and stays there in temporary seasonal settlements – katuns – which are established for just that purpose.

Today Sinjajevina, like many other Montenegrin mountains, suffers from severe depopulation and abandonment connected to, among other factors, the harsh living conditions, the lack of services and the challenge to sell local products. Even planning systems can be diametrically opposed to traditional pastoralism, like the military training ground officially created in the territory in 2019.

Nevertheless, it is important that the katun way of life is maintained: it assures a myriad of benefits for the ecosystem, including important biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation while staying highly productive and the survival of a culture with unique values and particularities.

In order to help local communities maintain their practices that have conserved and still contribute today to the conservation of these outstanding landscapes, it is vital to support the local agroeconomy, to improve infrastructure, while developing sustainable rural tourism in cooperation with all stakeholders. If handled correctly, Sinjajevina could become a true beacon for the region, and play a key role in future developments for both Sinjajevina, Montenegro and its neighbouring countries.