PRESPA LAKES

The two Prespa lakes (Λίμνες Πρέσπες/Limnes Prespes) are shared by Greece, Northern Macedonia and Albania. Situated at an altitude of 853 m, they cover a theoretical surface area of 306 km² and constitute one of Europe's most important ornithological areas: here live, stay or nest around 42% of the bird species recorded on the continent. An isthmus 4 km long and 500 m wide separates Lake Prespa (or Great Lake Prespa) from Little Lake Prespa. Located in the south, the latter covers 46.8 km² and is mainly in Greece (4.3 km² in Albania). The large lake extends over 259 km² between Mount Galičica (2,254 m) and Mount Baba (2,601 m) in northern Macedonia, and Mali i Thatë ("dry mountain", 2,287 m) in Albania. North Macedonia has the largest area: 176.3 km². The rest is divided between Albania (46.3 km²) and Greece (36.4 km²).

Islands and biodiversity. There are three islands on both lakes. On large Lake Prespa are the uninhabited islets of Golem Grad (18 ha), in Northern Macedonia, and Maligrad (5 ha), in Albania. On the smaller Lake Prespa in Greece, the island of Agios Achillios (80 ha) is inhabited by around twenty people. Tourism is relatively undeveloped. But the area is rich in biodiversity, with marshes and reeds, endemic species of fish, crustaceans and aquatic plants, and around 400 water buffalo in the Greek part of the small lake. This is an important stopover for migratory birds from Africa and the Middle East. Large wading birds such as the little egret (Egretta garzetta), great egret (Ardea alba), and fishing birds such as the pygmy cormorant (Microcarbo pygmeus), the white pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) and the rare curly pelican (Pelecanus crispus). The latter is the largest of the pelicans, with an average wingspan of 3m. The Prespa Lakes are its only breeding ground in Europe.

Ramsar and Unesco. All three parts of the two lakes have been listed under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands: Greece (51 km²) since 1975, Northern Macedonia (189 km²) since 1995 and Albania (151 km²) since 2013. The area is also bordered by four national parks: Galičica (227 km²) and Pelister (171 km²) in Northern Macedonia, Prespa National Park (277 km²) in Albania and Prespa National Park (51 km²) in Greece. There are also two international protected areas. In 2000, the "Prespa Park" was created between Northern Macedonia, Albania and Greece. And since 2014, the areas of the two Prespa lakes in Northern Macedonia and Albania have been part of the "Ohrid-Prespa Transboundary Biosphere Reserve" created by Unesco. This extends over 4,462 km² between the two countries. Despite all this protection, the ecosystem remains fragile. The surface area of both lakes is shrinking year by year as a result of global warming. Several endemic species are threatened with extinction, notably the Prespa trout (Salmo peristericus). In 2022, an avian flu epidemic caused the death of more than 1,700 curly pelicans, i.e. around 60% of the two-lake colony. A catastrophe for this species, which had previously numbered fewer than 18,000 individuals worldwide.