By To-Wen Tseng

The Region of Ohrid and the Prespa Lakes is situated in the Balkan Peninsula at the border triangle of Albania, Greece and Macedonia. Possessing unique flora and fauna, Ohrid and Prespa Lakes and the region as a whole assemble one of the largest biological reserves in Europe. The region has been inhabited since prehistoric times. The human interventions throughout the centuries have changed the natural conditions, especially the terrestrial ecosystems.

Alliance for Lake Cooperation on Ohrid and Prespa (ALLCOOP), a nongovernmental organization, is now focusing on promoting and supporting the cross-border activities to protect the environment in the region of Lake Ohrid and the Prespa Lakes, aiming at sustainable development of the region.

ALLCOOP was established in 2000. To ensure the active participation in the local communities, it took various approaches including development of cross border cooperation and co-ordination between the relevant states, local governments, and NGOs. This is how it works:

The assembly of ALLCOOP adopts the policy and the strategy upon a proposal of the Presidency developed by the Advisory Board. The Presidency of the organization consists of five members and is responsible for the implementation of the Program of Activities, which is adopted by the assembly at its annual meetings. ALLCOOP has also established an Advisory Board consisted of representatives of different institutions and NGOs in the region.

ALLCOOP cooperates with many NGOs from other lake regions in Europe and around the world, such as the Peipsi Center for Transboundary Cooperation, Estonia; Association of Balaton, Hungary; Bodenesee Stuftung, Germany; the Centre for Environmental Policy and Law, Hungary; the Global Nature Fund, Germany; LakeNet, USA.

Interestingly, the traditional agriculture, especially in the mountainous parts in the Region of Ohrid and the Prespa Lakes, often created conditions favoring rich biodiversity. Being at the crossroads between Europe and Asia, Macedonia became the home for diverse types of plants in past centuries. Of the agricultural biodiversity the diversity of fruit tree varieties is of particular interest in the Region.

Fruit tree growing has a long history in the region. Due to the topographical variety and various hindrances to production, traditional agricultural systems in the mountainous part of the region have nurtured a host of semi-natural environments, providing shelter for many species. However, this semi-natural environment may collapse without effective agro-environmental policies. The migration of the people to urban areas in the Region leads to under-utilization of agricultural land and its abandonment, and the mountainous agricultural landscapes with rich flora may be soon reverted to scrubs or forests.

Accordingly, ALLCPOOP launched a “Community-based in-situ conservation of traditional fruit free varieties” project. The overarching goal of the project is to develop sustainable and participatory approaches to conserve mountain biological and landscape diversity in the region.