Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Ohrid region
Factors affecting the property in 2021*
- Ground transport infrastructure
- Housing
- Impacts of tourism / visitor / recreation
- Major visitor accommodation and associated infrastructure
- Management systems/ management plan
Factors* affecting the property identified in previous reports
- 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
UNESCO Extra-Budgetary Funds until 2021
Total amount granted: USD 20 000 (UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe, Venice)
International Assistance: requests for the property until 2021
Total amount approved : 86,720 USD
2021 | Strengthening the Capacities to Manage the Cultural ... (Approved) | 55,000 USD |
2011 | Natural and cultural heritage of the Ohrid region (Approved) | 11,720 USD |
2011 | Increasing the Public Awareness of significance of the ... (Not approved) | |
1986 | Provision of equipment for the control of microclimatic ... (Approved) | 20,000 USD |
Missions to the property until 2021**
September 1998: Joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/IUCN mission; December 2013: Joint ICOMOS/UNESCO Advisory mission; April 2017: Joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission; December 2019: Joint ICOMOS/IUCN Advisory mission; January 2020: Joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission
Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2021
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.
Analysis and Conclusion by World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies in 2021
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.
Summary of the interventions
Decisions adopted by the Committee in 2021
44 COM 13
International Assistance
The World Heritage Committee,
- Having examined Document WHC/21/44.COM/13,
- Decides not to approve the International Assistance request from Madagascar entitled “Support for the removal of the Atsinanana Rainforests property from the List of World Heritage in Danger as decided by the World Heritage Committee”;
- Encourages the State Party of Madagascar to evaluate the outcomes of the implementation of the previous International Assistance request approved in 2010 for the Rainforests of the Atsinanana, and to submit a new International Assistance request focused on the fight against illegal logging and trade of rosewood which are the main reasons for retaining the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger;
- Decides to approve the following International Assistance requests:
- “Support for Heritage Impact Assessment to protect World Heritage in Lao PDR” (Lao PDR) for an amount of US$ 44,500 under the Conservation & Management-Culture budget. Flexibility is granted within the budget lines dedicated to travel and meetings, in order to accommodate possible adjustments in the implementation of the activities made necessary by the sanitary context related to the Covid-19 pandemic ;
- “Reparation and strengthening of the staircases to the frescos, the visitor platform, the wind-corridor metal bridge and the fragmented rock slabs of the lion staircase of the Sigiriya rock of the Sigiriya Ancient City” (Sri Lanka) for an amount of US$ 91,212 under the Conservation & Management-Culture budget;
- “Strengthening the Capacities to Manage the Cultural Heritage of the Ohrid Region: GIS Database Development Training for the Institute and Museum-Ohrid” (North Macedonia) for an amount of US$ 55,000 under the Conservation & Management-Nature budget, as authorized by paragraph 240 of the Operational Guidelines. Flexibility is granted within the budget lines dedicated to travel and meetings, in order to accommodate possible adjustments in the implementation of the activities made necessary by the sanitary context related to the Covid-19 pandemic. The profile of the national experts to be involved in the project will be be further clarified in a dialogue between World Heritage Centre and State Party at the time of implementation, as well as the work of the international experts, which could be distributed throughout the project;
- Decides that the Emergency Assistance budget for 2020-2021 can be increased by a maximum amount of US$ 124,000 from the operating reserve in order to reach a maximum of US$ 524,000, if the initial budget of US$ 400,000 is not sufficient;
- Recalling Decision 43 COM 13, paragraph 4, strongly appeals to all States Parties to make voluntary contributions for International Assistance by choosing among the options described in Resolution 19 GA 8;
- Encourages States Parties considering preparation of International Assistance requests to contact the World Heritage Centre for advice either on the topic and/or on the technicalities of their International Assistance requests well ahead the annual deadline of 31 October.
44 COM 7B.77
Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Ohrid region (Albania/North Macedonia) (C/N 99)
The World Heritage Committee,
- Having examined Document WHC/21/44.COM/7B.Add,
- Recalling Decisions 43 COM 7B.36 and 43 COM 8B.9, adopted at its 43rd session (Baku, 2019),
- Welcomes the efforts that have been made by both States Parties to start addressing the recommendations of the Committee, and notes in particular the improvements in legal processes and management structures, the temporary suspension of building permits in North Macedonia and the demolition of some illegal structures in both North Macedonia and Albania as well as the creation of the Transboundary Watershed Management Committee and the commitment to initiate a transboundary dialogue on the Struga to Lin section of the European corridor VIII railway project;
- Considers that while some decisions and missions’ recommendations over the past six years have been addressed, several have only been partly or insufficiently implemented, and a number of them not addressed at all;
- Expresses utmost concern at the findings of the 2020 joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission that:
- Regarding North Macedonia, there has been insufficient action to halt the slow erosion of the attributes of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) in the urban fabric and the wider landscape arising from inappropriate conservation, reconstruction and development, or to re-consider alternative outcomes for major projects relating to railway and road development,
- Regarding Albania, the acute vulnerabilities that were noted at the time of the extension of the property have not been curtailed and new projects and new developments are being planned that could be highly detrimental to the already compromised lake shore and the Lin peninsula;
- Notes with grave concern the conclusions of the 2020 mission, which considered that tall buildings close to the lake, the poor architectural quality of the built environment (especially in the main towns of Ohrid, Struga, and Pogradec (buffer zone), but also along the coast outside urban centres), and the inappropriate and excessive use of the coastal zone for tourism infrastructure, have all had a highly negative impact on OUV of the property;
- Takes note of the ongoing process for the proclamation of Lake Ohrid as a Monument of Nature in North Macedonia, including the development of a Valorization study, as well as a preliminary decision to declare the Studenčišča Marsh a nature park, and requests the State Party of North Macedonia to ensure that these processes are fully integrated with other relevant management and planning processes and are aimed at strengthening the overall management of the property, including through the establishment of functioning management structures;
- Notes with concern that in spite of recent initiatives, the management system appears still not to be fully mandated to maintain OUV due to conflicting priorities, poor implementation of the legal framework and little involvement of civil society, all of which have combined to fragment the management system;
- Also considers that halting and reversing the degradation that is now facing the property, which reflects the cumulative impact of inappropriate changes and lack of conservation over many years, will take considerable concerted efforts over a long timespan, and that, while the immediate actions to halt certain activities are welcomed, these are insufficient and can only be seen as the beginning of a much longer integrated and strategic process, which remains to be defined;
- Further considers that this legacy of erosion of the attributes over decades, combined with the continuing impact of the development in both parts of the transboundary property, represent actual and potential danger to the property according to Paragraphs 179 and 180 of the Operational Guidelines;
- Urges the two States Parties to develop a detailed Strategic Recovery Plan with an associated phased action plan that sets out clearly defined aims and outcomes to mitigate threats to OUV with a set of agreed actions including a timeframe both in the short and longer term as well as a phased action plan, based on the full recommendations of the 2020 mission, and which would provide an overarching transboundary political and institutional framework for addressing the severe and multiple threats facing to the property; and to present the Strategic Recovery Plan to the Advisory Bodies and the World Heritage Centre in February 2023;
- Finally requests the States Parties to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2022 a progress report, and by1 February 2023, an updated joint report on the state of conservation of the property, including a report on the progress made in the implementation of the above for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 46th session, with a view to considering, in case of the confirmation of the potential or ascertained danger to its Outstanding Universal Value, the possible inscription of the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
Draft Decision: 44 COM 7B.77
The World Heritage Committee,
- Having examined Document WHC/21/44.COM/7B.Add,
- Recalling Decisions 43 COM 7B.36 and 43 COM 8B.9, adopted at its 43rd session (Baku, 2019),
- Welcomes the efforts that have been made by both States Parties to start addressing the recommendations of the Committee, and notes in particular the improvements in legal processes and management structures, the temporary suspension of building permits in North Macedonia and the demolition of some illegal structures in both North Macedonia and Albania as well as the creation of the Transboundary Watershed Management Committee and the commitment to initiate a transboundary dialogue on the Struga to Lin section of the European corridor VIII railway project;
- Considers that while some decisions and missions’ recommendations over the past six years have been addressed, several have only been partly or insufficiently implemented, and a number of them not addressed at all;
- Expresses utmost concern at the findings of the 2020 joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission that:
- Regarding North Macedonia, there has been insufficient action to halt the slow erosion of the attributes of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) in the urban fabric and the wider landscape arising from inappropriate conservation, reconstruction and development, or to re-consider alternative outcomes for major projects relating to railway and road development,
- Regarding Albania, the acute vulnerabilities that were noted at the time of the extension of the property have not been curtailed and new projects and new developments are being planned that could be highly detrimental to the already compromised lake shore and the Lin peninsula;
- Notes with grave concern the conclusions of the 2020 mission, which considered that tall buildings close to the lake, the poor architectural quality of the built environment (especially in the main towns of Ohrid, Struga, and Pogradec (buffer zone), but also along the coast outside urban centres), and the inappropriate and excessive use of the coastal zone for tourism infrastructure, have all had a highly negative impact on OUV of the property;
- Takes note of the ongoing process for the proclamation of Lake Ohrid as a Monument of Nature in North Macedonia, including the development of a Valorization study, as well as a preliminary decision to declare the Studenčišča Marsh a nature park, and requests the State Party of North Macedonia to ensure that these processes are fully integrated with other relevant management and planning processes and are aimed at strengthening the overall management of the property, including through the establishment of functioning management structures;
- Notes with concern that in spite of recent initiatives, the management system appears still not to be fully mandated to maintain OUV due to conflicting priorities, poor implementation of the legal framework and little involvement of civil society, all of which have combined to fragment the management system;
- Also considers that halting and reversing the degradation that is now facing the property, which reflects the cumulative impact of inappropriate changes and lack of conservation over many years, will take considerable concerted efforts over a long timespan, and that, while the immediate actions to halt certain activities are welcomed, these are insufficient and can only be seen as the beginning of a much longer integrated and strategic process, which remains to be defined;
- Further considers that this legacy of erosion of the attributes over decades, combined with the continuing impact of the development in both parts of the transboundary property, represent actual and potential danger to the property according to Paragraphs 179 and 180 of the Operational Guidelines;
- Decides to inscribe the Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Ohrid region (Albania, North Macedonia) on the List of World Heritage in Danger;
- Urges the two States Parties to develop a detailed Strategic Recovery Plan with an associated phased action plan that sets out clearly defined aims and outcomes to mitigate threats to OUV both in the short and longer term as well as a phased action plan, based on the full recommendations of the 2020 mission, and which would provide an overarching transboundary political and institutional framework for addressing the severe and multiple threats facing to the property;
- Also requests the States Parties, in consultation with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies, to develop a proposal for the Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger and a set of corrective measures, including a timeframe for their implementation, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 45th session in 2022, based on the recommendations of the 2020 mission and the framework of the Strategic Recovery Plan;
- Finally requests the States Parties to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2022, an updated joint report on the state of conservation of the property, including a report on the progress made in the implementation of the above for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 45th session in 2022.
Exports
* :
The threats indicated are listed in alphabetical order; their order does not constitute a classification according to the importance of their impact on the property.
Furthermore, they are presented irrespective of the type of threat faced by the property, i.e. with specific and proven imminent danger (“ascertained danger”) or with threats which could have deleterious effects on the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (“potential danger”).
** : All mission reports are not always available electronically.