A mission of the World Monuments Organization, UNESCO, undertaken from March 25-29 this year recommends to the World Heritage Committee that meets next year the inclusion of Lake Ohrid in the List of World Heritage in Danger.
"The property meets the criteria for inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger, as described in Article 11.4 of the World Heritage Convention and in paragraphs 179 and 180 of the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention," the recently released mission report said. on the UNESCO website.
Both the Albanian and Macedonian authorities have not yet received any official response on this position, A2 reports.
The UNESCO mission says in the report that after monitoring, both on the Albanian and Macedonian sides of Lake Ohrid, "it comes to the conclusion that progress is very slow and very weak".
According to the UNESCO report, "the property remains highly vulnerable due to the weak implementation of the legal framework for protection and planning, as well as significant management problems at the national and international level".
The mission further states that "the serious deterioration of the main universal values of the property (Ohrid) and of the urban, rural and natural landscapes is causing irreversible degradation unless decisive action is taken".
In the threats identified, the mission mentions "inappropriate interventions, negative impacts of urban development and inappropriate spatial planning, eutrophication of the lake, large-scale infrastructure and other project proposals".
The mission says that "this may result in Ohrid losing its outstanding universal value in the short and medium term".
Referring to the part of Lake Ohrid in Albania, UNESCO says that "excessive focus on the economic benefits that can be derived from the existence of places of natural and cultural value obscures the full and honest assessment of the extreme vulnerability of universal property values and its integrity".
"The difficulty in recognizing the extremely vulnerable situation of the property by the main decision-makers does not allow the negative trends to be corrected and is likely to prolong and increase the vulnerability of the universal values of the Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Ohrid Region and their integrity and authenticity", says the report.
The mission supports a Strategic Recovery Plan undertaken by both Albanian and Macedonian authorities, but the process set up, according to the mission, "seems too fragile, not equipped with the necessary human and financial resources for its implementation and does not have the necessary support common cross-border".
"It is essential, UNESCO says in the report, that the Strategic Recovery Plan is given all the necessary institutional, professional, human, financial and organizational support to ensure its sustainable implementation to help the property recover from the risks identified and potential that it has faced, at least since 2020.”
The mission notes that "the state of conservation has not fully improved since the 2020 Reactive Monitoring Mission and the negative factors affecting the outstanding universal value of the property are still active and largely not fully recognized or controlled".
"Despite steps in the right direction and some local improvements in the implementation of measures necessary to preserve the values of the Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Ohrid Region, the property continues to face several threats, which are increasing," the report says.
The UNESCO report specifically mentions some of the threats to the aquatic ecosystems and shoreline of Lake Ohrid
Eutrophication, mainly from sewage contamination, remains a critical factor contributing to the decline of endemic fish populations, the report states.
"Furthermore, nutrient uptake from the coastal ecosystem exacerbates eutrophication due to several factors: defective sewage systems, lack of wetlands to mitigate nutrient input, decline in coastal zone functionality, and agricultural activities in surrounding areas, the report says.
UNESCO notes that “the alarming decline of fish and bird populations, as well as the loss of the diversity of wetland-dependent species, underscore the inadequacy of current management measures.
According to the report, "urgent conservation measures are necessary to address declining fish and bird populations, while ongoing development of a management plan, including zoning, is still in progress."
Other aspects that add concern according to UNESCO come from the expansion of road networks, the erosion of hills, the increase of fire risks.
Another aspect of UNESCO's concerns is related to the development of constructions that affect the area.
"Large-scale development around the lake, especially near major urban centers such as Ohrid and Struga, in North Macedonia, and Pogradec (in the buffer zone), in Albania, the report says, has eroded the qualities of the "extremely harmonious ensemble" that is one of the main characteristics that make this region truly unique".
UNESCO says that "inappropriate and unsustainable urbanization and the development of tourist infrastructure have reduced the understanding and appreciation of the qualities that supported the long-term development of church life along the shores of the lake".
"The unique ancient urban entity of the old city center of Ohrid, the report continues, has been negatively affected by countless interventions that have cumulatively eroded its preservation and authenticity."
UNESCO estimates that "coordination between the management of parts of Lake Ohrid in North Macedonia and Albania is insufficient, hindering effective conservation efforts".
UNESCO says that “the measures requested by the World Heritage Committee since 2014 and by the Reactive Monitoring Missions of 2017 and 2020 have been fulfilled only to a very limited extent, while some have been implemented very slowly and some have not been addressed at all, hindering improving the state of preservation of the property "
The mission notes that “the only cross-border activity reported concerns a tourism-driven project – COOLTOUR – rather than focusing on creating mechanisms for effective operational cooperation in the implementation of joint conservation efforts”.
"The cross-border cooperation between Albania and North Macedonia, according to UNESCO, still seems to be in its beginnings, and high-level strategic directions for cross-border cooperation should be determined at the political level in both States Parties, based on the priority of the property for preservation ".
"Broad mobilization is urgently needed to preserve the outstanding universal value of the Ohrid region, and placement on the list of World Heritage in Danger remains an option if the necessary measures are not taken," says UNESCO.
By February 1, 2025, Albania and North Macedonia will have to submit a joint report on the progress and measures taken in implementing UNESCO's recommendations.
Lake Ohrid is one of the largest lakes in the Balkan Peninsula and is considered one of the oldest lakes in the world. Most of the lake belongs to North Macedonia, while the rest belongs to Albania. Three large cities lie on the shore of the lake: Ohrid and Struga in Macedonia and Pogradec in Albania.
The Macedonian part of Lake Ohrid was accepted into the World Heritage List in 1979, first as a natural asset, and a year later as a natural and cultural asset, while the Albanian part was accepted in 2019./Voice of America (A2 Televizion)
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