A State of the Environment Report - World Lakes

1 LAKE OHRID AND ITS WATERSHED:OUR LAKE, OUR FUTUREA State of the Environment ReportDr. Mary C. Watzin, Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Laboratory,University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, USAE rika Swahn, Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Laboratory, Universityof Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, USAMary Watzin, Andreas Matzinger, Zoran Spirkovski, Vasa Mitic,Raimonda Totoni, and Elizabeta Veljanoska-SerfiloskaJanuary 2003 Text written by:Layout by:Pictures and graphical material provided by:..WITH COMMON PROBLEMSB ecause of its high biodiversity and its unique cultural heritage, Lake Ohrid is a lake of tremendous local andinternational significance.

2 But many forces also threaten it. Since the end of World War II the population in the lake swatershed has grown rapidly. It now approaches 200,000 permanent residents, with many thousands more cominginto the basin during the summer growth anddevelopment have impacted the lakein many ways. These include intensefishing pressures, destruction of thereed beds and other natural habitatsaround the shoreline of the lake, andthe introduction of pollutants, especiallyphosphorus, into the lake is fertilizing the lake,stimulating algae growth that threatensthe lake s unique biodiversity and thecrystal clear water that is its majortourist UNIQUE Ohrid is very old.

3 It was formed 2-3 million years ago by earthquakes that fractured the landscape andcreated its deep bowl. Because the lake is so old and the surrounding hills and mountains isolated it from other waters,a unique collection of plants and animals have evolved here. Some of these plants and animals were common millionsof years ago, but have virtually disappeared from other places in the World . Scientists call these species relicts orliving fossils. Other species live only in LakeOhrid and are found nowhere else on theplanet. These endemic species includethe famous Lake Ohrid trout and manyother fish, snails, worms, sponges andaquatic plants.

4 Almost 70 % of LakeOhrid s plants and animals are relic orendemic too have made the Lake Ohridwatershed their home for thousands ofyears. The ancient Illyrians built villages inthe Ohrid-Prespa region in the 4th and 5thcenturies BC. The castle northwest ofPogradec was constructed during this the first century AD, the town of Ohridwas the cultural center of Macedonia. Inmedieval times, the famous missionaries,St. Clement and St. Naum, made Ohridtheir home and a thriving university, the oldest in Europe, educated over 3500 students. In the 10th century, Samuelruled over the greater Slavonic region from the fortress on the hill of Ohrid.

5 Today the Lake Ohrid watershedincludes three countries, Albania, Macedonia, and Greece, and numerous cities, towns and view of Lake Ohrid from Samuel s from agricultural fields is a significant source of pollution inboth Lake Prespa and Lake Ohrid. State of the Environment 1 The common problems of Lake Ohrid encouraged the governments of Albania and Macedonia to cometogether and sign an agreement on 20 November 1996 to begin the Lake Ohrid Conservation Project. Fundingfor the project comes from a Global Environment Facility (GEF) grant through the World Bank. The activities ofthe Lake Ohrid Conservation Project began in 1998 and will continue until mid Components of the Lake Ohrid Conservation ProjectComponent A: Institutional Strengthening Focuses on increasing the capacity of public officials in the Lake Ohrid watershed to enforce each country senvironmental laws, regulations, standards and B: MonitoringFocuses on establishing a comprehensive bi-national monitoring program to inform the public and localofficials about the condition of the lake and to provide the information necessary for effective C.

6 Participatory Watershed ManagementAims to mobilize groups within the watershed to create a strategic action D: Public Awareness and ParticipationWorks to create public awareness and increase community participation to ensure effective and sustainableimplementation of the Lake Ohrid Conservation objective of the Lake Ohrid Conservation Project is to conserveand protect the natural resources and biodiversity of Lake Ohrid bydeveloping and supporting effective cooperation between Albania andMacedonia for the joint environmental management of the LAKE OHRIDCONSERVATION PROJECT 2 State of the EnvironmentThere are critical choices to be made the future

7 Of the Lake Ohrid basindepends on the choices that we all make in the coming State of the Environment Report summarizes the information about the watershed that has beengathered and highlights the environmental problems that currently exist. It also outlines some of the stepsthat must be taken in the future, by both governments and the citizens of the basin, to begin solving WATERSHEDLake Ohrid has of shoreline andcovers an area of Although theaverage depth of the lakeis 164 m, it has amaximum depth of 289m. The water that fillsLake Ohrid comes fromits watershed, or drainagearea.

8 The rivers andstreams that run downfrom the mountainsidesand out of the valleys intothe lake, such as theCerava River and theKoselska River, deliverabout half of its rest comes from thesprings that flow into thesouthern part of the lake,at St. Naum, Drilon andTushemisht. Thesesprings are fed by waterflowing out of the porous mountains to theeast, Galicica and Mali i Thate. These mountainsare made of karst, a kind of rock that is easilyeroded by water. Over thousands of years,holes and channels have formed within themountain rock. These channels carry water thatoriginated in Lake Prespa to Lake Lake Prespa sits 150 m above LakeThe springs at St.

9 Naum carry water from Lake Prespa into Lake , its waters run downhill to Lake Ohrid through the channelsin the karst. One of the easiest places to see the water leaving LakePrespa and entering the underground mountain channels is at the Zaveriswallow hole, along the western shore of Big Prespa Lake, near thevillages of Gollomboch and Lake Ohrid, Big and Small Prespa Lakes also get their waterfrom their watershed. These Lakes have smaller drainage areas andthey are filled mostly by the rivers flowing into them. About every 11years, all the water in Lake Prespa isreplaced by new water. In contrast,it takes about 70 years for all thewater in Lake Ohrid to be flows out of Lake Ohrid nearStruga, into the Black Drim river eventually runs all the wayto the : Mount Galicica towersabove Lake Ohrid in Page: The Lake Ohridwatershed (in deeper colors)includes parts of Albania,Macedonia and Greece.

10 State of the Environment 3 LAKE OHRIDCONSERVATION PROJECT 4 State of the EnvironmentHUMAN ACTIVITIES IN THE BASIN STRESSES ON THEECOSYSTEMway into Lake Ohrid. This situation poses athreat to the health of both the inhabitants andthe tourists in Macedonia, the Regional SewerageSystem for the Protection of Lake Ohridcollects wastewater from about 65% of theOhrid-Struga region and delivers it to thetreatment plant Vranista. After treatment, thewastewater is discharged into the River BlackDrim. The first phase of the plant wascompleted between 1985 and 1987 and it hasbeen operating since June 1988.