Transboundary Alpine Lake Park Protecting Balkan Wetlands and Mountain Ecosystems
Prespa National Park
Prespa National Park is a protected area spanning approximately 277.5 square kilometers in southeastern Albania, situated at the border triangle shared with Greece and North Macedonia. The park encompasses the country's sections of both Great Prespa Lake and Small Prespa Lake, two high-altitude tectonic lakes lying between 849 and 853 meters above the Adriatic Sea, making them the highest tectonic lakes in Southeastern Europe. The landscape is characterized by dramatic mountain terrain, particularly Mali i Thatë which separates Great Prespa from Lake Ohrid, alongside extensive freshwater wetlands, reed beds, salt marshes, alpine meadows, and dense forests covering some 13,500 hectares of the park's territory.
The park holds significant international recognition as a Ramsar Wetland of international importance, an Important Bird and Plant Area, and a component of both the European Green Belt and the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves. Its unique position at the crossroads of three countries, combined with diverse elevational gradients and habitat types, has fostered extraordinary biodiversity. The park protects critical habitat for threatened species including some of Europe's last remaining populations of brown bears and gray wolves, as well as substantial colonies of great white pelicans and Dalmatian pelicans that inhabit the lakes during summer months.
Prespa National Park also preserves a rich cultural heritage spanning millennia, with archaeological evidence of human habitation dating back to the Neolithic period. The region was traversed by the ancient Via Egnatia trade route and was inhabited by Illyrian tribes, Ancient Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines. The park contains numerous Byzantine churches and caves of archaeological significance, including the notable Treni Cave which hosts Europe's largest population of long-fingered bats.
