“Prespa That Connects Us” – World Lakes Day Marked in Resen

On the eve of World Lakes Day, observed on 27 August, the public event “My Patch of Nature” was held in Resen, organized by the Macedonian Ecological Society (MES), the Municipality of Resen and Galicica National Park as part of the project “Prespa Green and Blue Initiative – Empowering Conservation through Research, Education and Communication”, funded by the European Union (EU) and co-financed by the Prespa-Ohrid Nature Trust (PONT). Conceived as a platform connecting institutions, organizations, the local community and all those who care about Prespa’s future, the event demonstrated that when people, knowledge, nature and culture come together, Prespa has a story to tell the world.

The event opened with addresses by Jovan Tozievski, Mayor of the Municipality of Resen, and Robertina Brajanoska, Executive Director of the Macedonian Ecological Society, who highlighted the importance of joint action to preserve the region’s natural heritage and create conditions for its sustainable development.

As part of the event, the Declaration on the Establishment of a Transboundary Working Group on Forestry was signed, with the aim of creating a common platform for dialogue, knowledge and information exchange, and coordination of activities related to the conservation, restoration and monitoring of forests across the wider Prespa region.

The Declaration was initially signed by Galicica National Park, the Macedonian Ecological Society, the Society for the Protection of Prespa (SPP) from Greece, and the Protection and Preservation of Natural Environment in Albania (PPNEA). By signing the Declaration, the partners reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening regional cooperation in the protection, restoration and sustainable management of forests.

This was followed by the panel discussion “Conservation and Sustainable Management of Prespa’s Natural Heritage”, which addressed the current state, challenges and opportunities for protecting the region’s natural wealth and sustainably managing its natural resources. The panel featured Ajman Al Malla, Head of the Environmental Sector at the Municipality of Resen; Andon Bojadzi, Head of the Nature Protection Department at Galicica National Park; Dragan Arsovski, Head of the Knowledge and Science Programme at the Macedonian Ecological Society; and Marijana Milevska, Project Manager at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for the “EU for Prespa” project.

Alongside the main programme, visitors had the opportunity to discover local products and Prespa’s natural treasures through presentations by local producers, protected areas and civil society organizations. In this way, the event connected nature conservation with the local economy, tradition and opportunities for sustainable development.

Special attention was given to the youngest participants. In cooperation with the primary schools “Mite Bogoевski” and “Goce Delchev” from Resen, a tournament of the “Prespa” board game was organized, giving students the opportunity to learn about the natural heritage of their region in a fun and interactive way. The tournament final was played on a large screen in front of the audience in the town square.

The evening programme concluded with a celebration of local culture through music. The audience enjoyed the authentic traditional urban folk music of the group “Persidi”, followed by the pop-rock repertoire of Resen-based band “Push Pauza”.

The event was preceded by two citizen-participation field visits. Around twenty citizens from the region took part in a birdwatching activity at Sirhan, overlooking the northern Prespa lakeshore and Ezerani Nature Park, while the following day a turtle monitoring activity was conducted in the vicinity of the villages of Ljubojno and Dolno Dupeni. These activities gave citizens an opportunity to directly learn about the scientific research and monitoring work being carried out to better understand and protect Prespa’s natural environment.

With “My Patch of Nature”, Prespa once again demonstrated its power to connect people and culture. Each of us may have a different “part of nature”, but Prespa belongs to us all. Its natural heritage is a shared responsibility, and its future depends on all of us – on our willingness to cooperate, care for it, and work together to shape the Prespa we will leave to future generations.

The event was organized within the project “Prespa Green & Blue Initiative: Empowering Conservation through Research, Education and Communication” funded by the European Union under the programme “EU for Prespa” and co-funded by the Prespa-Ohrid Nature Trust (PONT). Project implementation partners are the Macedonian Ecological Society, the Municipality of Resen, Galichica National Park, the Society for the Protection of Prespa (SPP) from the Republic of Greece, and the Protection and Preservation of Natural Environment in Albania (PPNEA) from the Republic of Albania. The implementation of project activities is supported by the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning of the Republic of North Macedonia and Pelister National Park.