• Thursday, 08 May 2025
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Ramsar Advisory Mission holds meeting on Lake Prespa

Ramsar Advisory Mission holds meeting on Lake Prespa

Skopje, 7 April 2025 (MIA) - The Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning hosted Monday a meeting of the Ramsar Advisory Mission focused on the future of Lake Prespa, which the country shares with Greece and Albania.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Environment and Physical Planning Izet Mexhiti noted the need for urgent and coordinated actions to protect the lake, pointing to climate change, using the water for irrigation and underground outflows as the greatest threats. 

Во Министерството за животна средина и просторно планирање денеска се одржа состанок на советодавната комисија Рамсар, посветен на иднината на Преспанското Езеро кое ја поврзува земјава со Ал

“We are doing the utmost to save Lake Prespa, which has faced a significant decrease in water level in recent years – a serious threat for its ecological system. Climate change, the use of water for irrigation, underground outflows are some of the biggest threats we have to face and tackle. These problems can’t wait, and that’s why urgent and coordinated actions are necessary. That is why this Ramsar mission is of exceptional importance,” Mexhiti said.

Mexhiti stressed the implementation of the European Union’s Green Agenda for the Western Balkans is not an isolated effort, underscoring the significance of regional cooperation and harmonization with the EU’s policies.

“I am certain that only through joint effort, the governments, businesses and civil society can accelerate progress and encourage these significant changes. That is precisely the direction of the Ramsar Advisory Mission, as an independent technical advisory mechanism of the Ramsar Convention,” Mexhiti said.

The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty named after the city of Ramsar, Iran, where it was signed with the goal of preventing the destruction of wetlands and underscoring their environmental, economic, cultural, scientific and recreational value.

Photo: MIA/MIA Archive