Protecting Lake Ohrid, Albania and Macedonia

Ohrid, Macedonia should top your 2017 Travel List. This time is the famous american magazine "The Vogue", writing an article for 6 Balkan places that everyone should visit during 2017. Ohrid is recommended among 6 small Balkan's cities: Prizren (Kosovo); Belgrade (Serbia); Himara (Albania); Transylvania (Romania) and Herzegovina region (Bosnia and Herzegovina)  "Unbeknownst to most, these countries are just the outset of exploration into the Balkans region, home to a number of culturally vibrant and naturally impressive countries where you won’t run into troves of tourists: You can dine alfresco at family-run, waterfront restaurants, and you don’t have to dodge selfie sticks while enjoying castle-top views. " OHRID, MACEDONIA Locals stroll along a cobble stoned walkway, canoes drift in the lake’s oscillating waters, and a choir practices on the Church of St. Sophia steps as dusk begins to set: Welcome to Ohrid, Macedonia, an utterly perfect town

After being recommended as one of top 10 destinations for 2017 by Lonely Planet, Ohrid city and lake ohrid region, is continously attracting the worldwide media to write about the amazing place, and inviting tourists to know and visit it. This time is 'Daily Mail' with a special report on Sunday, writing an article about this amazing destination. Among others, the author writes: "On our journey to Lake Ohrid, the diamond in this country of many treasures, we crossed part of the ancient Via Egnatia, one of the great Roman military roads of the ancient world – a 696-mile link between Macedonia and Istanbul. Much of the route fell into disuse but some sections are now a walking trail.  Straddling the Albanian border further south, beautiful Lake Ohrid has it all – pure spring water, some of the country’s most precious icons and, supposedly, a church for each day of the year. Ohrid town, a blend of cobbled old quarter and modern resort, has sandy beaches, lakeside walk

The Nikola Nezlobinski Museum in Struga is an important place for the history of the Lake Ohrid region, presenting Lake Ohrid and its inhabitants over a period of more than 100 years. The museum conserves and displays animal and plant species of the Lake Ohrid region and Lake Prespa. It is a rare collection, because some of the species no longer exist. Milovan Shutinoski The founder of the museum was a Russian doctor, Nikola Nezlobinski, a nature lover. As soon as he arrived in Struga he started collecting and preserving insects, catching birds and other kinds of animals. In 1928, he established the first zoo exhibition and in doing so, he laid the foundations for a natural sciences museum in Struga. The current exhibition in the museum is determined by the origin of the fauna and flora, all of which originate from the mountains and fields of the Struga–Ohrid region, exhibiting the local character of this specialized scientific institution. The exhibition consists of numero

Conservation and preservation of the developed heritage area in Pogradec is essential for all the local authorities on the Albanian side of Lake Ohrid. In this framework the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) is proposing the development of a manual with guidelines for maintenance and rehabilitation of traditionally built heritage in the Albanian part of the region. The manual will address conservation problems and upgrade the needs of the heritage developed on the Albanian side of the lake, while retaining and sustaining its morphology and construction characteristics and materials. The guidelines will act as a reference tool for all those responsible for the preservation and conservation of the developed heritage of the Pogradec area, including local architects, engineers and craftsmen. Moreover, it will also be useful for state institutions and the local administrations. The ICOMOS mission in the area, undertaken in June 2015, highlighted the need for ratio

The joint goal of partners that gathered around the project "Towards Strengthened Governance of the Shared Transboundary Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Lake Ohrid region" is to support the efforts of local and national authorities to safeguard unique cultural and natural heritage of the Lake Ohrid Region. One of the major challenges ahead is the improvement of solid waste management in this area. On the Albanian side of the Lake, the solid waste management has been ranked as the priority of the National Plan and National Strategy on Waste Management for the period 2010-2025. In order to make the first steps addressing this issue, the team has set up a governance structure, identifying the representatives of the consortium, local government, and other key local stakeholders. In June 2016, IUCN supported the formation of a consortium gathering the Rural Development and the National Centre for Environment from Tirana and Tourism and Sustainable Development from Pog

Paragliding has a certain tradition in Macedonia. Thanks to its specific terrain configuration, easy accessibility to the mountains,  and weather conditions that allow flying almost all year around, Macedonia has become a place of pilgrimage for paragliding pilots around the globe. It has grown rapidly as a sport as well as a tourist attraction enabling almost everyone to get that amazing feeling of flying like a bird.  The center of the ‘party’ is Krushevo, the highest town in the country at 1,350m above sea level. It rises above Pelagonia, the biggest valley in Macedonia. That is the place with perfect conditions for flying on most days of the year as well as for landing in the valleys around. Both professionals and beginners just love to fly from here.  Different international flying competitions are held here every year, so most of the time you will find pilots from all around the globe hanging out and flying high…. All year around, Krushevo town hosts many parag

Lake Ohrid region is home to nearly 160 000 people, with more than 52 000 residing in Albania. Every year, approxi mately 300 000 visitors explore the region's natural and cultural heritage. While in Macedonian side of the lake, summer tourism rhymes easily with culture tourism , this is not happening in Albanian side of the lake.  "The main threat in wetlands like the Lake Ohrid region is the fact that it is exclusively used as a sunny weekend, a few hours destination, with extremely low or no income for the local people",- says Alois Lang, Austrian expert working with local authorities in Pogradec region for sustainable tourism development.  The challenge for local and international experts who are working closely on this area, is to find alternative touristic products and interests for the general public, but also for different kinds of audiences, says Christophe Graz, heritage consultant ICOMOS, who is  also working with Albanian experts to explore the tourism

The Fourth Transboundary meeting took place on 27 and 28 October in Struga, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The meeting was organised within the framework of the project “Towards Strengthened Governance of the Shared Transboundary Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Lake Ohrid Region”. A Transboundary Platform strengthens the synergies among the existing transboundary management structures, such as the Joint Secretary of the Watershed Management Committee for Lake Ohrid and ongoing initiatives such as the UNESCO Man and Biosphere designations, in order to enhance management of the Lake Ohrid region in the two countries. Representatives from the Macedonian Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning, and the Ministry of Culture, representatives of the Albanian Ministry of Environment, and the Ministry of Culture, representatives of the Albanian National Agency on Protected Areas, members of the joint secretariat of the Transboundary Water Management Committee for Lake Oh

Every year Lonely Planet puts out their new book Best In Travel. For 2017 the little-known city of Ohrid in Macedonia sneaks in at number five , renowned for its position overlooking an extraordinary blue lake . 5 . Ohrid, Macedonia Overlooking the extraordinarily blue waters of its eponymous lake, Ohrid enjoys a stunning position that is best viewed from a boat. From the water you’ll see the town’s terracotta roofs broken up by centuries-old church spires (the city claims once to have had 365) and overlooked by the turreted walls of Car Samoil’s Castle. Ohrid has transformed itself from Macedonia’s religious centre to its busiest holiday resort, and its beaches are the best by far in this otherwise landlocked nation. However, a planned new lake-shore development will likely change this sleepy town forever, making now a great time to go. Read the original article:  http://www.lonelyplanet.com/best-in-travel/cities?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=bes