TIRANA, Feb. 2 – Greece, Albania and Macedonia sign a formal agreement for the protection of the unique Prespa Lakes wetland on the 10th anniversary of the declaration of the Balkans’ first transboundary eco-agreement,which also coincides with World Wetlands Day.
Last November Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou invited his counterparts in an informal summit at the Ramsar-protected Prespa National Park to discuss cooperation prospects in the protection and sustainable development of the Prespa National Park region, which straddles the borders of all three countries.
Environment ministers of the three countries — Tina Birbili of Greece, Fatmir Mediu of Albania and Nexhat Jakupi of Macedonia — signed the agreement together with European Commissioner for the Environment Stavros Dimas.
The agreement contains specific commitments but also opportunities for the natural environment and human activities in the Prespa region, and will introduce standing cooperation structures that are deemed necessary to confront the wetlands’ problems and also for the region’s sustainable development.
The natural beauty and environmental importance of Prespa is acknowledged internationally, as is the need to protect it.
The first step for a unified and integrated protection of the Prespa region was made in 2000 with the Declaration by the prime ministers of Greece, Albania and FYROM founding the transboundary Prespa Park, the first of its kind in the Balkans, with the purpose of preserving the area’s “delicate” ecosystem but also enhancing cooperation among the peoples living around the two Prespa lakes, both at economic and cultural — and not only — level
They designated the Prespa region a National Park, indeed the Balkans’ first nature park, with the aim of protecting the rare species of birds and fish living in the area, and also serving as a “meeting point among the three countries and a crossroad of cultural exchange”, as well as an example of promoting cooperation among Balkan countries.
Shortly after the Declaration, a trilateral informal Prespa Park Coordination Committee was set up, which served as the vehicle for communication, information exchanges and confidence-building among the three sides.
Many local agencies (chiefly municipalities and NGOs) have been working together for the materialization of the joint programs, while international financial organizations have provided substantial economic support.
The transboundary Prespa Park is a noteworthy example of adherence to international environmental law as it has showcased significant joint actions that contribute not only to promoting sustainable development but also active rapprochement between the neighboring peoples.
The Prespa basin stands out for its exquisite biodiversity, which has been acknowledged at European and global level not only for its rich fauna and flora, but for the quality and rarity of the species it ‘hosts’.
More than 260 species of birds, 1,500 species of plants, 23 species of fish and 60 species of mammals make up Prespa’ rare biodiversity.
The Prespa are also among the 10 most important wetlands of the Mediterranean, while eight of the 11 fish species native to the lakes are endemic and not found anywhere else in the world.
The Prespa area is a large basin at an altitude of 850m which contains two lakes, Prespa e Vogel (Lesser) and Prespa e Madhe (Greater). Megali Prespa is today located in Greece, Albania and Macedonia while Mikri Prespa is entirely located within Greece and Albania
According to the UNESCO World Heritage Center, the area is characterized by outstanding natural beauty and has been inhabited without interruption from antiquity (with traces of ancient inhabitation in the area of “Lemos” and on the island of Agios Achilleos) to the present day.
In Albania, the Prespa National Park was established in 1999 aimed at the restoration and sustainable protection of critical land and aquatic ecosystems in the area.
In Greece, the Prespa National Park was established in 1974 for the protection of the Lesser and Greater Prespa Lakes and their outflow basin, while in 1975 the area was designated a “Place of Significant Natural Beauty”. Further, the Greek section of the Lakes’ basin is included in the National List of 163 areas that have been entered in the Natura 2000 network as “Special Protected Areas” (SPA) in accordance with the EU ‘Birds’ (conservation of wild birds, 1979) and ‘Habitats’ (conservation of natural habitats and wild fauna and flora, 1992) Directives.
The Lesser Prespa Lake was designated in 1974 as a “Wetland of International Importance” under the Ramsar Convention.
In Macedonia, the Pelister National Park was founded in 1948 for protection of a globally unique mountain ecosystem east of the Greater Prespa Lake, while the Galicica National Park was founded in 1958 for the restoration and protection of a unique land ecosystem extending to Mt. Galicica situated between Greater Prespa and Lake Ohrid. The Ezerani (Ramsar site) ornithological (nature) reserve was founded in 1996 for the protection of migratory and other aquatic birds. Greater Prespa was designated a “Natural Monument” in 1977.
