LAC PRESPA

This lake (Преспанско Езеро/Prespansko Ezero, Liqeni i Prespës, Μεγάλη Πρέσπα/Megali Prespa) is the second largest in North Macedonia, after Ohrid. It is one of Europe's most important ornithological areas: around 42% of the continent's bird species live, stay or nest here. With a theoretical surface area of 259 km², the lake is shared between three countries. Northern Macedonia owns the largest part, 176.3 km². The remainder is divided between Albania (46.3 km²) to the southwest and Greece (36.4 km²) to the south.

Large and small Prespa. There are actually two Prespa lakes. An isthmus 4 km long and 500 m wide separates Lake Prespa - or Great Prespa Lake - from Little Prespa Lake (Мало Преспанско Езеро/Malo Prespansko Ezero, Prespa e Vogël, Μικρή Πρέσπα/Mikri Prespa). Located in the south, it covers 46.8 km². It lies mainly in Greece, with a small part in Albania (4.3 km²). Formed 1 million years ago, the two lakes cover a total area of around 306 km². They are shallow: 14 m on average and 48 m maximum for the large lake, 7.7 m on average for the small lake. They are linked by a natural channel across the isthmus, which lies in Greek territory. They lie 853 m above sea level, between Mount Galičica (2,254 m) to the west, Mount Baba (2,601 m) to the east and Mali i Thatë ("dry mountain", 2,287 m) in Albania to the south, making them the highest non-glacial lakes in the Balkans. Thanks to their elevated position and porous karst configuration, the Prespa lakes supply water to Lake Ohrid via natural underground passages 7 to 12 km long, which run beneath Mount Galičica.

Islands and biodiversity. The lakes include three small islands. On the large Lake Prespa are the islets of Golem Grad (18 ha), in Northern Macedonia, and Maligrad (5 ha), in Albania, both uninhabited. The island of Agios Achillios (80 ha) on Greece's tiny Lake Prespa is inhabited by just twenty or so people. Tourism is underdeveloped, and there are no towns on the shores, only hamlets and villages. But the area is rich in biodiversity, with marshes and reeds, numerous endemic species of fish, crustaceans and aquatic plants.

Waders and pelicans. The Prespa Lakes are one of Europe's most important stopovers for migratory birds from Africa and the Middle East. Large wading birds such as the little egret(Egretta garzetta), great egret(Ardea alba), sickle ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) and black-crowned night heron(Nycticorax nycticorax), and fishing birds such as pygmy cormorant(Microcarbo pygmeus), white pelican(Pelecanus onocrotalus) and curled pelican(Pelecanus crispus). The latter, very rare on the planet, is the largest of the pelicans. The Prespa Lakes are its only breeding ground on the Old Continent. In fact, Europe's largest colony of this bird, with an average wingspan of 3 meters, can be found here.

Ramsar and Unesco. The three national areas of the two lakes are listed under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands: Greece (51 km²) since 1975, Northern Macedonia (189 km²) since 1995 and Albania (151 km²) since 2013. There is also the small Ezerani Nature Park (20 km²), north of the large lake, in Northern Macedonia. The whole area is 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. It is managed by the Society for the Protection of Prespa (spp.gr), co-founded in 1990 by Swiss biologist Luc Hoffmann (1923-2016) and based in the Greek village of Agios Germanos, on the shores of the small Prespa lake. And, since 2014, the areas of the two Prespa lakes located in Northern Macedonia and Albania have been part of the "Ohrid-Prespa Transboundary Biosphere Reserve" created by Unesco. The reserve extends over 4,462 km² between the two countries. It is managed by the German-based Prespa Ohrid Nature Trust (pont.org).

Threats and disasters. Despite all the protection measures implemented by the three countries, the Prespa Lakes 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, a sudden outbreak of avian flu caused the death of more than 1,700 curly pelicans - around 60% of the colony on the two lakes. This was a catastrophe for a species that had previously numbered fewer than 18,000 individuals worldwide.

A symbol of rapprochement. To end on a more positive note, the Prespa lakes recently served as the setting for a rapprochement between Athens and Skopje. It was in the Greek village of Psarades, on the southern shore of the great lake, that representatives of the two countries signed the historic Prespa Agreement on June 12, 2018. This enabled FYROM (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) to finally gain international recognition under the name of "North Macedonia".