Ohrid-Prespa Transboundary Biosphere Reserve ( mk, Прекуграничен биосферен резерват „Охрид-Преспа“, Prekugraničen biosferen rezervat „Ohrid-Prespa“; sq, Oher – Prespe, Rezerve Ndërkufitare Biosfere) is a

biosphere reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

encompassing the area of

Lake Ohrid Lake Ohrid ( mk, Охридско Езеро , al, Liqeni i Ohrit , also referred as ''Liqeni i Pogradecit'';) is a lake which straddles the mountainous border between the southwestern part of North Macedonia and eastern Albania. It is one of E ...

and

Lake Prespa The Lake Prespa is located on the tripoint of North Macedonia, Albania, and Greece. It is a system of two lakes separated by an isthmus: the Great Prespa Lake, divided between the three countries, and the Little Prespa Lake, mostly within Gree ...

, on

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...

and

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

. The reserve was declared in June 2014 and comprises a combination of water bodies and surrounding mountain reliefs, covering an area of .

Declaration

The Ohrid-Prespa area was declared a biosphere reserve on 11 June 2014 at the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

international commission session held in

Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland. The city is the seat of Jönköping Municipa ...

, Sweden. The proposal was made by the Lake Ohrid Bilateral Secretariat, together with the UNESCO national commissions of Macedonia and Albania, as well as their respective

environment ministries Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

Ecology

The Ohrid-Prespa Transboundary Reserve includes various

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

s, ranging from the mountainous areas around the lakes, to the temperate sub-tropical forests found at lower altitudes around the water basins. The Ohrid-Prespa lake system is one of the largest in Europe of its kind. Both lakes possess exceptional value on a national and international level because of their

geological Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other E ...

and biological uniqueness. Lake Ohrid is renowned for its

endemic species Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

(over 200), five of which are limited to

microecosystem Microecosystems can exist in locations which are precisely defined by critical environmental factors within small or tiny spaces. Such factors may include temperature, pH, chemical milieu, nutrient supply, presence of symbionts or solid substrate ...

s within the lake itself. Ten of the seventeen fish species are endemic, including the

Ohrid trout Ohrid trout or the Lake Ohrid brown trout
Balkan trout restoration group. Downloaded on 20 May 2010. (''Sal ...

(''Salmo letnica''). There are also endemic and unique forest areas such as that covered by the

Macedonian pine ''Pinus peuce'' (Macedonian pine or Balkan pine) (Serbo-Croatian/ Macedonian: молика, molika; Bulgarian: бяла мура, Byala mura) is a species of pine native to the mountains of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Montenegro, Kosovo, the ...

(''Pinus peuce'').

Mammals Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur o ...

represent the second most important group of species in the Ohrid-Prespa Transboundary Reserve, whose protection is crucial to the reserve. They include the

Balkan mole The Balkan mole (''Talpa stankovici'') is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae. It is found in Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia and Greece, including the island of Corfu. References Talpa Mammals of Europe Mammals described i ...

(''Talpa stankovici''),

Balkan lynx The Balkan lynx (''Lynx lynx balcanicus'') is a subspecies of the Eurasian lynx in the genus ''Lynx''. It is found in Albania, Kosovo, eastern Serbia, and western North Macedonia, with smaller populations in Montenegro. It is considered a nation ...

(''Lynx lynx martinoi''), gray wolf (''Canis lupus''), the

brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is ...

(''Ursus arctos'') and others. The Balkan lynx is an exceptionally rare species, holding especially high symbolic value. One bird species in the area of particular note is the

Dalmatian pelican The Dalmatian pelican (''Pelecanus crispus'') is the largest member of the pelican family, and perhaps the world's largest freshwater bird, although rivaled in weight and length by the largest swans. They are elegant soaring birds, with wingspa ...

(''Pelecanus crispus''). The Prespa region is the home to about 260

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

species, representing more than half the bird species in Europe. About 140 species

nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of organic materi ...

in this area.

Socioeconomic characteristics

The Ohrid-Prespa Transboundary Reserve has an estimated population of 455,000, representing an area of cultural, ethnic and religious diversity. The settlements are situated only in the transitional areas and include demographically relatively stable settlements, whereas other populated areas (especially the cities of

Ohrid Ohrid ( mk, Охрид ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the List of cities in North Macedonia, eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording ...

and Struga on the shore of Lake Ohrid and

Pogradec Pogradec () is the eleventh most populous city in Albania and the capital of the eponymous municipality. It is located on a narrow plain between two mountain chains along the southwestern banks of the Lake of Ohrid. Its climate is profoundly in ...

in Albania), receive many thousands of visitors during the tourist season. In Albania, the main economic activity of the local populations is

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

, still present in the transitional area and some parts of the buffer zone. More recently, the food processing industry has seen significant development (especially in

Korçë Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the eighth most populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population is 75,994 (2011 census), in a total area of . It stands on a plateau som ...

), in parallel with traditional agriculture, giving rise to new settlements. The most important sector of development in the area of the reserve is the

primary sector The primary sector of the economy includes any Industry (economics), industry involved in the extraction and production of raw materials, such as farming, logging, fishing, forestry and mining. The primary sector tends to make up a larger portio ...

. In many areas, individual

smallholding A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technology ...

family farms are replaced with a more intense type of production (such as the large orchards in the area of Resen). In some mountainous parts,

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

is also a significant economic activity.

Stockbreeding Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, startin ...

is also important throughout the transboundary region.

Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

is the key area of development of the entire transboundary biosphere reserve. The city of Ohrid alone receives a large number of visitors during the high season, six times that of its native population (42,000).

Fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

is another key activity with ecological and economic impacts on the lakes.

Major populated places in the area

;North Macedonia * Cities:

, Struga, Resen, Bitola * Municipalities: Debarca,

Vevčani Vevčani ( mk, ) is a village in North Macedonia. It is the only settlement and seat of Vevčani Municipality. Geography The village of Vevčani is found in the southwestern range at the foot of the Jablanica mountain range. It is situate ...

;Albania *

Bilisht Bilisht ( sq, Bilisht) is a town and a former municipality in Korçë County, south-eastern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision and the seat of the municipality Devoll. It was the seat of the former Devoll Distric ...

Maliq Maliq ( sq-definite, Maliqi) formerly known as Malik, is a town and a municipality in Korçë County of eastern Albania. It is the smaller of two cities in the district, the other being Korçë, southeast of Maliq. The current enlarged municipalit ...

References

{{reflist

External links

The Ohrid-Prespa Transboundary Reserve
- UNESCO Biosphere reserves of North Macedonia Biosphere reserves of Albania Nature reserves in North Macedonia Protected areas established in 2014 Protected areas of Korçë County Albanian Ohrid Lake Coast