When wetlands span national boundaries, protecting them requires more than good environmental policy—it demands genuine cooperation. The Prespa Lakes, shared by Albania, Greece, and North Macedonia, are a valuable example of how countries can work together to protect a unique and vulnerable ecosystem.
Situated in a high-altitude basin and home to around 19,000 people, the Prespa region lies at the intersection of the European Continental, Mediterranean, and Alpine biogeographical zones. Its wetlands support exceptional biodiversity, including numerous endemic species. But the region faces increasing pressures—from falling water levels to pollution and the growing impacts of climate change.
In early 2025, the three countries jointly requested a Ramsar Advisory Mission (RAM) to help address these challenges. Coordinated by the Convention on Wetlands Secretariat, a RAM is not a compliance mechanism, but a cooperative one. It provides technical and strategic guidance to help countries maintain or restore the ecological character of their Ramsar Sites.
The mission team—composed of experts from the Secretariat, national focal points from all three countries, and observers from the UN Water Convention—visited all three designated Ramsar Sites: Lake Mikri Prespa (Site 60) in Greece, Lake Prespa (Site 726) in North Macedonia, and the Albanian Prespa Lakes (Site 2151).
Site visits were accompanied by consultations with local communities, mayors, scientists, NGOs, and international partners including UNDP and the EU. These exchanges helped identify shared concerns, including water governance, biodiversity loss, and the need to strengthen protection and management zones.
Prespa has long been a symbol of collaboration. On World Wetlands Day in 2000, the Prime Ministers of Albania, Greece, and North Macedonia met to announce the creation of Prespa Park—the first transboundary protected area in the Balkans. This milestone led to the 2010 Agreement on the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Prespa Park Area, signed by the three Environment Ministers and the European Commissioner for the Environment.
During the opening meeting of the Advisory Mission, Flore Lafaye de Micheaux, Senior Advisor at the Secretariat, thanked all three governments for their leadership, and also placed the mission within a global context: “Wetland ecosystems are nature’s most effective water managers, yet they are disappearing three times faster than forests… Healthy wetlands underpin several of the 2030 Agenda’s Sustainable Development Goals. Investing in wetlands now prevents far greater costs in the future.”
Prespa’s wetlands continue to provide essential resources for agriculture, fisheries, tourism, and well-being. But like many large lakes worldwide, they face threats such as pollution, eutrophication, and the impacts of climate change.
“As with other great lakes in the world,” Lafaye de Micheaux said, “Prespa Lakes suffer from civilisation’s diseases… But responses to these multiple crises must be carefully tailored and respectful of the unique ecological and social features of the spaces.”
She also expressed appreciation for the wider network of organisations working in the region, including the Society for the Protection of Prespa, UNDP, and the EU.
The findings of the 2025 Advisory Mission will be captured in a report currently being developed with all three countries. The goal is to support stronger, long-term governance of this transboundary basin—and help ensure that Prespa remains not only a sanctuary for biodiversity, but a model for wetland cooperation.
Source: Convention on Wetlands
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