First Management Planning Workshop to begin for transboundary Lake Ohrid region

The first management planning workshop in a series of five will take place on 25 and 26 March 2015 in the Korça region, Albania. The workshop is carried out in the framework of the 36-month European Union-funded project “Towards strengthened governance of the shared transboundary natural and cultural heritage of the Lake Ohrid region”.

The project is designed to address the main threats affecting the Lake Ohrid region through strengthening transboundary cooperation, enhancing management effectiveness and identifying and safeguarding the natural and cultural heritage of the Lake Ohrid region. 

The five management planning workshops will be carried out between March and November 2015. The workshops will focus on enhancing capacities among relevant stakeholders for the long-term effective management of the Lake Ohrid region, which is characterized by many exceptional natural and cultural features shared between Albania and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

The first management planning workshop is aimed at the establishment of a core team and management plan preparation statement as well as stakeholder identification.

Representatives from Albania and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia will participate in the first management planning workshop, including national authorities from the respective Ministries of Environment and Culture, local authorities from the Municipalities of the Lake Ohrid region, Advisory Bodies to the World Heritage Convention (ICCROM, ICOMOS and IUCN) as well as representatives from UNESCO.