Sustainable use of our common resource

Economic development in the Prespa region is full of contrast, with three different countries having different economic evolution, yearly income levels, as well as unemployment rates. However, one thing is common to all three sections of the Prespa basin - an intense need to enhance the standard of living of the inhabitants and generate sustainable economic development.

Livelihoods: Facts and figures

Approximately 28,900 people live in the Prespa Lakes Basin: nearly 75% in FYR of Macedonia (17,500), 17% lin Albania (5,300) and 8% in Greece (1,500). The population of the Prespa Lakes Basin in FYR of Macedonia has decreased approximately 20% over the past thirty years, but population density is still over 28 persons/km2.

The whole basin is characterized by depopulation, increased migration rates especially of the young, difficulties in trading of local production, disability to adapt to new technologies and challenges, limited participation in decision-making, inadequate social facilities, unemployment and inability of local people to explore and use sustainably the area’s competitive advantages.

The majority of the local population in the Prespa basin is occupied in the primary sector - agriculture, animal breeding, fishing, forestry. In Greece and in the FYR of Macedonia, intensive agriculture is the main occupation, complemented by animal husbandry and fishing. In Albania, activities of the primary sector are extensive rather than intensive. Industry and manufacturing are developed only in the FYR of Macedonia, while tourism is an important activity in Greece and the FYR of Macedonia.

It is estimated that five percent of the local population in FYR of Macedonian part generates more than half of their incomes by gathering forest fruit, mushrooms and medicinal plants. Another 21% supplement their income by non-timber forest products. The importance of collecting wild fruits and medicinal plants for income generation in the Albanian part is similar.

Agriculture

The life in the Prespa Park revolves around agriculture that engages approximately 75% of work force, or up to 85% in Greece and Albania. In the Greek part of the basin intensive bean cultivation is practiced on a total area of around 1000ha, while organic bean cultivation was introduced in 1998 and expanded since. Small land ownership and some significant deficiencies in marketing and processing also characterize the sector.

In the Albanian part of Prespa basin the arable land is covered mostly by wheat (84%). In the mid-1980s more than half of the arable soils were irrigated, but nowadays only a fraction of irrigation systems function due to the destruction of pumping stations. Thep roductivity is low due to unfertile soils, as is the use of pesticides and fertilizers. This, on the other hand, indicates the area’s potential for organic farming.

In the FYR of Macedonia agriculture generates some 30% of the total income. Approximately 20% out of 61,000 ha of the area is agricultural land, dominated by apple growing. Orchards - including some traditional local varieties of both apples and pears - spread over 2,722 ha, with a production of 50-60,000t. There are 3,000 agricultural families in the region, but nearly half of the farmers today are over 55 years old.

Fishing

Fishing has provided a source of income for hundreds of years and still exists today, although at a much smaller scale. Unique traditional fishing methods and tools remain an important element of the local culture and tradition, but are being replaced with modern ones.

It is estimated that 2-13% of the labour force is involved in fishing, and that approximately 50-60 fishermen across the Prespa Basin earn a significant portion of their income just from the high-value carp fishery.

There is no reliable data on fish yield, but the steady decrease in catches is attributed to the increased stress on the Lake’s ecosystems, or to the lack of profitable markets.

The secondary sector

In the Greek Prespa, there are a few workshops operating organized as family businesses and employing about 25 people. There are no secondary sector activities in the Albanian Prespa. In the FYR of Macedonia, some 2,500 are employed in various, often not prosperous and mostly small enterprises.

Prespa Park for the sustainable economic and social development

In view of the character and the particularities of the region, large-scale or intensive development initiatives (intensive agriculture, manufacture, industry, mining, mass tourism etc.) are often incompatible with the preservation of the values of the area. With a basin-wide productive system not balanced, the future development policy is focused on the promotion of structural changes by emphasizing activities of the primary and tertiary sectors where the area’s competitive advantages converge.

The Prespa Park Coordination Committee initiates and oversees activities that support sustainable tourism, alternative technology, renewable energy sources, improved infrastructure and new production methods. This approach is considered the most appropriate to facilitate the transition from intensive uses of natural resources to more sustainable ones.♦