Ohrid-Prespa Transboundary Biosphere Reserve

Ohrid-Prespa
Transboundary Biosphere Reserve
Ohrid-Prespa; Transboundary Biosphere Reserve
Прекуграничен биосферен резерват „Охрид-Преспа“; Oher – Prespe, Rezerve Ndërkufitare Biosfere
	View of mount Galičica and Lake Ohrid and Lake Prespa, the core area of the reserve
Coordinates	40°59′36″N 20°51′43″E / 40.99333°N 20.86194°E
Created	2014

Ohrid-Prespa Transboundary Biosphere Reserve (

biosphere reserve encompassing the area of Lake Ohrid and Lake Prespa, on North Macedonia and Albania.^[1]

The reserve was declared in June 2014 and comprises a combination of water bodies and surrounding mountain reliefs, covering an area of 446,244.52 hectares (1,722.96 sq mi).[2]

Declaration

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

environment ministries

.

Ecology

Ohrid trout, endemic species of Lake Ohrid

The Ohrid-Prespa Transboundary Reserve includes various

endemic species (over 200), five of which are limited to microecosystems within the lake itself. Ten of the seventeen fish species are endemic, including the Ohrid trout

(Salmo letnica).

There are also endemic and unique forest areas such as that covered by the

Macedonian pine

(Pinus peuce).

gray wolf (Canis lupus), the brown bear (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 (Pelecanus crispus). The Prespa region is the home to about 260 bird species, representing more than half the bird species in Europe.^[1] About 140 species nest

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 [1] and include demographically relatively stable settlements, whereas other populated areas (especially the cities of Ohrid and Struga on the shore of Lake Ohrid and Pogradec in Albania), receive many thousands of visitors during the tourist season.

In Albania, the main economic activity of the local populations is agriculture, still present in the transitional area and some parts of the buffer zone.^[1] More recently, the food processing industry has seen significant development (especially in Korçë), in parallel with traditional agriculture, giving rise to new settlements.

The most important sector of development in the area of the reserve is the

Stockbreeding is also important throughout the transboundary region.^[1]

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

Major populated places in the area

North Macedonia

Cities: Ohrid, Struga, Resen, Bitola
Municipalities: Debarca, Vevčani

Albania

Korçë, Pogradec, Bilisht, Maliq

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Ohrid-Prespa - Biosphere Reserves". UNESCO. August 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
^ ^a ^b "Регионот Охрид-Преспа прогласен за биосферен резерват на УНЕСКО" (in Macedonian). Нова Македонија. 11 June 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2016.

External links

The Ohrid-Prespa Transboundary Reserve - UNESCO

[UNESCO-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Ohrid-Prespa - Biosphere Reserves". UNESCO. August 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2016.

[нова_македонија-2] "Регионот Охрид-Преспа прогласен за биосферен резерват на УНЕСКО" (in Macedonian). Нова Македонија. 11 June 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2016.

[1]