Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Ohrid region

• Management systems/ management plan
• Buildings and development
• Ground transport infrastructure
• Major visitor accommodation and associated infrastructure (proposed Galičica Ski Centre)
• Impacts of tourism / visitor / recreation

Total amount granted: USD 20 000 (UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe, Venice)

A joint ICOMOS/IUCN Advisory mission visited the North Macedonia part of the property in December 2019 to consider road improvements, and a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission visited the property in January 2020 (mission reports available at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/99/documents/). On 2 February 2020, the States Parties of North Macedonia and Albania submitted two separate reports on the state of conservation, addressing the recommendations of the Committee, which are available at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/99/documents/. The State Party of North Macedonia submitted an updated report on 25 February 2021. The States Parties also submitted substantial background information for the mission experts and subsequent comments on the mission reports. The States Parties have reported the following key actions:

• Temporary suspension of construction permits in North Macedonia was introduced in July 2019 (until February 2020);
• An inventory of illegally built structures has been compiled for North Macedonia and some illegally built structures along the shore have been removed; a few illegal buildings have been demolished along the lake in Albania and there are further plans to remove informal settlements;
• Technical alternatives for Kichevo to Struga routes of the Lin Pan European corridor VIII railway in North Macedonia have been reviewed. Currently, there are no plans for the section from Struga to Lin in Albania, although the two States Parties are initiating a dialogue to consider alternative routes for this section;
• Possible routes for the remaining sections of the A2 Highway Trebenista–Struga are being explored;
• Sanitation and rehabilitation of the Lake Ohrid wastewater management system has been initiated in North Macedonia following allocation of funding by the government;
• Technical preparations for the re-diverting of the Sateska River to its natural path into Crn Drim River have continued and the project is planned to be completed by the end of 2023;
• The Transboundary Watershed Management Committee has been established and held two meetings since January 2020;
• Protection and presentation of Lin Church, Albania, has been improved;
• A Management Plan for the property for 2020-2029 has been adopted in North Macedonia. The World Heritage Supplement Plan is effective in Albania and staff have been appointed;
• Preparations are underway for the proclamation of Lake Ohrid as a Monument of Nature in North Macedonia, including development of a valorisation study and its harmonization with the Management Plan for the property. A preliminary decision to declare the Studenčišča Marsh a nature park has been approved by the Government of North Macedonia and the proposal will now undergo public consultation;
• Details of the following major projects are provided:
  • Waterscape leisure park at Drilon and Tushemisht springs, Albania;
  • Master Plan for the Pogradec to Tushemisht lakeshore promenade, Albania;
  • Regeneration plan for the urban area of Lin, Albania;
  • Revised plan for Quay Macedonia, Ohrid, North Macedonia.

On 30 March 2021, the World Heritage Centre sent a letter to the State Party of North Macedonia requesting clarifications regarding third-party information raising concerns about a number of issues, to which the State Party replied on 19 April 2021, referring to the information provided in its state of conservation report. On 10 May 2021, the State Party of North Macedonia provided documentation concerning National Park Galičica, and on 1 June 2021, additional information in relation to the designation of Lake Ohrid and Studenčišča Marsh under the Convention for Wetlands (Ramsar, 1971), the removal of illegally build structures on the lake shore and updates on solid waste management, which is currently under review by the Advisory Bodies.

The efforts made by both States Parties to address the latest recommendations of the Committee are welcomed. These relate to improvements in legal processes and management structures, including those for Lin Church, temporary suspensions of building permits in North Macedonia, the demolition of some illegal structures in both North Macedonia and Albania, the creation of a transboundary committee, the intention to initiate a transboundary dialogue for the Struga to Lin section of the European corridor VIII railway, as well as continued progress with the improvement of the wastewater management and preparations for the re-diverting of the Sateska River to its original path.

However, many recommendations of the Committee over the past six years and of previous missions have not been implemented, several have only been partly or insufficiently implemented, and a number of them not addressed at all.

Regarding North Macedonia, there has been insufficient action to halt the slow but accumulative erosion of attributes of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) over time in the urban fabric arising from inappropriate conservation, reconstruction, and development, and to re-consider alternative outcomes for major projects relating to railway and road development.

Although some proposals for large infrastructure and construction projects identified by the 2017 Reactive Monitoring mission, notably the Galičica Ski Centre, the A3 road (sub-sections (a) and (e)) and the tourism development at Ljubaništa 3, were already abandoned, major projects still remain potential threats. While route options have been explored for part of the European corridor VIII railway, no analysis of these has been shared and it remains unclear whether the tunnel recommended by the 2017 mission will be considered. Three further infrastructure projects will cut across the still rural landscape near the Lake: the A2 road, the 400kV Bitola–Elbasan transmission line, and a new gas pipeline. To mitigate the damaging fragmentation of the landscape and resulting loss of cultivated land, sections of the A2 road not yet planned need to be re-considered further away from Lake Ohrid and urgent consideration needs to be given to aligning all four projects. Further new development proposals include a free economic zone near Ohrid airport. The newly adopted Management Plan recognizes a marina project as a potential threat, however, it remains unclear whether a project for a marina around a completed promenade at Studenčišča Marsh will be taken forward.

Regarding Albania, the acute vulnerabilities that were noted at the time of the extension of the property have not been curtailed and new developments are being planned that could be highly detrimental to the already-compromised lake shore and the Lin peninsula. The major Waterscape leisure park project around the Drilon and Tushemisht springs includes excessive construction in a rural lakeside landscape which will impact highly adversely on the springs feeding into Lake Ohrid that contribute to its oligotrophic status. Planned building development/regeneration of the waterfront of Pogradec and along Lin peninsula and its lakeshore will impact adversely on one of the last almost unspoiled stretches of the lakeshore in Albania.

For both North Macedonia and Albania, the construction of tall buildings close to the lake, the poor architectural quality of the built environment especially in the main towns and along the coast, and the inappropriate and excessive use of the coastal zone for tourism exploitation have all had a negative impact on the property. In response to these threats, there appears to be an insufficient shared understanding of the values of the property, conflicting priorities, poor implementation of the legal framework and little involvement of civil society, which have combined to fragment the management system, leaving it ineffective in maintaining OUV.

The progress made has thus not been commensurate with the scope and extent of the many threats facing the OUV of the property, nor does it capture the urgency of the situation. At the time of inscription for cultural values in 1980, the well-preserved old towns of Ohrid and Struga were set in an almost untouched natural landscape, which was seen to be of exceptional beauty and an essential part of their setting. The first mission in 1988 noted threats from economic and demographic developments and the need for an integrated approach to conservation that linked culture and nature, based on a sound legal framework, strengthened management and a spatial plan. Nearly all of these measures are still missing. The 2013 mission noted that uncontrolled development in parts of the city and even more along the lakeshore had eroded the authenticity and integrity, while four years later, the 2017 mission requested a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) to define the cumulative impacts of the many major projects on the property’s OUV. This is still awaited. The property within Albania is facing similar threats from similar causes.

The legacy of erosion of the attributes over decades, combined with the impact of the proposed developments in both parts of the transboundary property, represent an ascertained and potential danger to the property according to Paragraphs 179 and 180 of the Operational Guidelines. It is therefore strongly recommended that the Committee inscribe the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

Halting and reversing the cumulative degradation that is now facing the property will take considerable concerted efforts over a long timespan. While the immediate actions to halt certain activities are welcomed, they are not sufficient and can only be seen as the beginning of a much longer process. Currently, in spite of the clear vision for the part of the property in North Macedonia set out in the Management Plan, the development of the foreseen recovery and revitalization plan has not yet begun. An agreed, phased Strategic Recovery Plan is urgently needed with short, medium and longer term actions and adequate resources. Such a Strategic Recovery Plan should aim to restore the property in line with its OUV.

It is recommended that the Committee urge the two States Parties to develop a Strategic Recovery Plan, with an associated phased action plan that sets out clearly defined aims and outcomes to address the mitigation of threats to OUV whose delivery can be monitored over time. Such a Strategic Recovery Plan should provide an overarching framework for the development and implementation of a set of corrective measures, which will need to be defined as a matter of urgency, based on the detailed recommendations of the 2020 mission. The Statement of OUV acknowledges that the “convergence of well-conserved natural values with the quality and diversity of its cultural, material and spiritual heritage makes this region truly unique” but all this remains now under severe threat and, with the current direction of travel, will only get worse unless a sustained effort is made to change direction.