ZONE TRANSFRONTALIÈRE PROTÉGÉE DU LAC D'OHRID

The natural region of Lake Ohrid has recently been protected by three different international conventions, two of which extend across the border with Albania. Since 1979, only the part located in Northern Macedonia, and in particular the old town of Ohrid, had been listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site. But in 2019, this site was extended to include the entire area around the lake, forming the "Ohrid region": an area of 947 ^km2 that is now classified as a Unesco "natural and cultural heritage" site. This includes not only the lake itself (349 ^km2), but also the Albanian shores, notably the town of Pogradec (population approx. 60,000), south of the lake and 8 km west of the St. Naum monastery, and the peninsula of the village of Lin (population approx. 500, Albanian and Macedonian), west of the lake and 22 km south of Struga. Lake Ohrid is also part of the "Ohrid-Prespa Transboundary Biosphere Reserve", which extends over 4,462 ^km2 around Lake Ohrid and Lake Prespa. This was created in 2014 by North Macedonia and Albania under the aegis of Unesco. It is managed by the German-based organization PONT (Prespa Ohrid Nature Trust) (pont.org). Finally, since 2021, the 250 ^km2 North Macedonian part of the lake has been listed under the Ramsar Convention for the preservation of wetlands of international importance with a high concentration of birds and fish.