Implementing
World Bank
Agency
Region
Albania and Macedonia
Focal Area
International Waters
Project Title
Lake Ohrid Management Project
GEF Allocation
US$4.41 million
Cofinancing
US$0.27 million (Governments of Albania and Macedonia)
Total Financing
US$4.68 million
Dates
June 1998­June 2002
Environmental
· Limited treatment of wastewater and uncontrolled agricultural runoff as well as other nonpoint source
Problem
pollution, threatening unique biodiversity and ecosystems of transborder lake
Project Goals
· Develop the institutional, legal, and regulatory framework for environmental management of the lake.
· Develop water quality and ecosystem monitoring.
· Formulate, in a participatory process, an operational watershed management program.
Lake Ohrid, which lies between Albania and Macedonia in a mountain valley, is one of the world's oldest
lakes and one of the largest reserves of biodiversity in Europe. It possesses unique flora and fauna that are
extinct elsewhere; ten of seventeen fish species are endemic. Lake wetland areas are important habitat for
various aquatic birds and spawning grounds for fish.
The lake's shores have long been settled. Today, with three shoreside cities and high numbers of summer
visitors, the lake is experiencing increasing pollution from both agricultural runoff and wastewater discharges
either into rivers that feed the lake or directly into the lake itself. Less than 25 percent of wastewater in the
lake's catchment is treated. Unfortunately, inflow and outflow of water in the lake is slow, and the lake's
water is exchanged only once every sixty years. Pollution of the lake, therefore, is increasing. Runoff has led
to increases in the lake's phosphorus content; if nothing is done, the lake could eventually become eutrophic.
The Project
This project objective is to conserve and protect the natural resources and biodiversity of Lake Ohrid by
developing and supporting an effective cooperation between Albania and Macedonia for the joint
environmental management of the Lake Ohrid watershed. Key performance indicators for the development
objective are:
· Average lake nutrient concentrations below the critical level which sustains the lake oligotrophic state;
· Reduced nutrient and microbiological loads in the lake's tributaries and inflows;
· Key ecosystem health and stability indicators maintained wthin safe limits; and
· Actions taken by the LOMB to promote and support government's conservation and protection policies.
Activities
· Institutional, legal, and regulatory framework. This component will establish a Lake Ohrid Management
Board to promote permanent cooperation between the two countries. The board will agree on common
objectives, operating rules, and procedures; review project implementation; and discuss fund-raising
strategies to implement an environmental program for the lake. The component will also support

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technical training; work to harmonize laws, regulations, and standards between the two countries; and
strengthen management and enforcement of municipalities bordering the lake.
· Monitoring framework. This component will support a well-coordinated monitoring program by
purchasing monitoring equipment and developing a monitoring system to track water quality, discharges
into the lake, and other data.
· Lake Ohrid Participatory Watershed ManagementProgram. This component will aim to mobilize the
groups within the watershed to transform the strategic program developed in the feasibility study into an
action plan.
· Public Awareness and Participation Program. This component will, (i) increase public awareness of
environmental issues related to Lake Ohrid; and (ii) increase community participation in activities to
conserve and protect Lake Ohrid and its watershed.
Benefits
· Protect the Lake Ohrid basin by establishing an effective international framework for long-term basin
management, and by undertaking some priority actions to control the major sources of pollution and
watershed degradation
· Establish basis for cooperation between Albania and Macedonia and provide basis for preparing regional
development strategy serving both countries.
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is a financial mechanism that provides grants and concessional funds to developing countries for projects and
activities designed to protect the global environment. GEF resources address climate change, biological diversity, international waters, and depletion of the
ozone layer. Activities concerning land degradation, primarily desertification and deforestation as they relate to the four focal areas, are also eligible for funding.
GEF is a joint venture of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the World Bank.
These three agencies implement GEF projects.
For more information on this project, contact:
For more information on GEF:
Global Environment Division
GEF Headquarters
The World Bank
1818 H Street NW
1818 H Street NW
Washington DC 20433 USA
Washington DC 20433 USA
Tel: (202) 473-0508 Fax: (202) 522-3240/522-3245
Tel: (202) 473-1816 Fax: (202) 522-3256
www.gefweb.org
E-mail: htowsey@worldbank.org
www.worldbank.org/html/pic/gefdoc.htm
Chief Executive Officer: Mohamed T. El-Ashry
Senior External Relations Coordinator: Hutton G. Archer
E-mail: harcher@worldbank.org

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