MISSION REPORT Joint World Heritage Centre / ICOMOS / IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission to the World Heritage property Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Ohrid region (North Macedonia / Albania) 27 - 31 January 2020 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..................................................................................................... 4 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS .................................. 4 Background ..................................................................................................................... 4 Mission methodology ...................................................................................................... 5 Overall state of conservation and factors affecting the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), integrity and authenticity of the property .................................................................... 5 Major construction and development projects within the property and its setting ............. 7 Railway Kichevoe – Lin Pan European corridor VIII ..................................................... 7 New development plans and projects .......................................................................... 9 Progress on previous World Heritage Committee decisions and Reactive Monitoring Missions’ recommendations .................................................................................... 10 Mission’s Conclusions and Recommendations ............................................................. 12 2. BACKGROUND TO THE MISSION ............................................................................ 22 Inscription history .......................................................................................................... 22 Extension .................................................................................................................. 23 Statement of Outstanding Universal Value ................................................................ 23 Examination of the state of conservation by the World Heritage Committee .............. 24 Justification of the Mission ............................................................................................ 25 3. NATIONAL POLICIES AND TRANSBOUNDARY ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE PRESERVATION AND MANAGEMENT OF THE PROPERTY ................................... 26 Albania .......................................................................................................................... 26 Legal protection ......................................................................................................... 26 General Local Plan for Pogradec Municipality ........................................................... 27 Management Plan for the Pogradec Terrestrial / Aquatic Protected Landscape ........ 32 World Heritage Supplement to the Management Plan for the Pogradec Terrestrial / Aquatic Protected Landscape 2017 - 2027 .......................................................... 33 Management arrangements at the national level ....................................................... 34 North Macedonia........................................................................................................... 35 Legal protection ......................................................................................................... 35 Planning framework ................................................................................................... 35 Management Plan for the Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Ohrid Region (2020 – 2029) ................................................................................................................... 37 Management arrangements at the national level (North Macedonia) ......................... 39 Transboundary management arrangements ................................................................. 40 Community participation ................................................................................................ 42 4. BOUNDARIES ............................................................................................................ 43 5. IDENTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT OF ISSUES AND THREATS .......................... 44 Insufficient management effectiveness ......................................................................... 44 Type and extent of the threats to the property ............................................................... 44 Environmental threats................................................................................................ 44 Urban sprawl and illegal buildings ............................................................................. 55 Delay and weakness of the moratorium on any new construction .............................. 59 2 Proposed Development Projects ............................................................................... 60 Tourism pressures ..................................................................................................... 66 Use and artificialization of the lakeshore.................................................................... 67 Lack of a Tourism Tax ............................................................................................... 72 Large Infrastructure Projects ..................................................................................... 73 Projects for the conservation of cultural heritage monuments and historic urban fabric ............................................................................................................................ 78 Projects for the conservation of natural heritage ........................................................ 80 6. ASSESSMENT OF THE STATE OF CONSERVATION OF THE PROPERTY ............. 80 Current state of conservation of the property and trends ............................................... 80 Progress made in addressing the threats and in responding to previous Reactive Monitoring Missions’ recommendations and World Heritage Committee decisions .. 86 7. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................. 93 8. LIST OF RECEIVED AND CONSULTED DOCUMENTS AND PUBLICATIONS......... 104 ANNEX 1. TERMS OF REFERENCE, PROGRAMME AND COMPOSITION OF THE 2020 REACTIVE MONITORING MISSION ........................................................................ 107 ANNEX 2. LIST OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REQUESTED BY THE MISSION .... 116 ANNEX 3. STATEMENT OF OUTSTANDING UNIVERSAL VALUE OF THE PROPERTY ................................................................................................................................. 120 ANNEX 4. MINUTES OF THE FIRST MEETING OF THE TRANSBOUNDARY WATERSHED MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE FOR OHRID LAKE ............................ 124 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Mission would like to sincerely thank the Albanian and North Macedonia authorities for their hospitality and assistance in the preparation and implementation of this Reactive Monitoring Mission. In Albania, we wish to express our gratitude to Mr. Sokol Gjoka, Secretary General of the National Commission for UNESCO for the successful preparation of the mission as well as Ms. Marsela Plyku Demaj and Ms. Nerxhana Tallushi from the Ministry of Culture. Special thanks go to all officials and specialists met of the following institutions at national and local levels: Ministry of Tourism and Environment; Ministry of Culture; Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs; Regional Directorate of Cultural Heritage, Korçë; Regional Agency of Protected Areas, Korçë; Regional Directorate of Territorial Regulation, Korçë; National Institute of Cultural Heritage; Pogradec Wastewater Treatment Plant; Museum of Pogradec; Institute of Archaeology, Academy of Albanian Studies; UNESCO National Commission; for providing valuable information concerning natural and cultural heritage issues in the Albanian side of the property. In North Macedonia, we wish to express our gratitude to Mr. Hristijan Gjorgievski, Adviser to the Prime Minister, Ms. Ana Petrovska, State Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning, and Mr. Zoran Pavlov, Department Head, Directorate for Protection of Cultural Heritage, Ministry of Culture, for the successful preparation of the mission as well as for their continued support throughout the same. Special thanks go to all officials and specialists met of the following institutions at national and local levels: Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning; Ministry of Culture; Ministry of Transport; Directorate for Protection of Cultural Heritage; Galičica National Park, Hydrobiological Institute - Ohrid; Public Enterprise Kolekstorski Sistem; Public Enterprise for State Roads; Public Enterprise for Macedonian Rail-Infrastructure; Nezlobinski Museum - Struga; Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments and Museum – Ohrid; UNESCO National Commission; for providing valuable information concerning natural and cultural heritage issues in the side of the property of North Macedonia. Likewise, the Mission wishes to express its gratitude to Mr. Ilir Xhakolli, Mayor of Pogradec and Mr. Konstantin Georgievski, Mayor of Ohrid, as well as their respective cabinets and the officials met from Struga, for the warm welcome to their municipalities and useful exchanges on the management and conservation of the property. Sincere thanks are also due to the representatives of the non-governmental organizations and private citizens of Podradec and Ohrid who met with the Mission, for sharing their views and submitting useful information on a number