A flock of cormorants, at least five-strong, was perched on an abandoned fishing hut. There was a heron too, several gulls and, in the distance, seven white dots floating on the surface of Lake Dojran – pelicans.
“Before, two to three thousand cormorants used to come in winter,” said Zlate Taleski, who lives near the lake in the southeast of North Macedonia, on the border with Greece. “Now, you’re lucky if you find five.”
By law, Lake Dojran is a protected natural monument, home to more than 100 species of bird and an important stopover point for migratory birds. It is recognised as a Ramsar wetland of global importance and is a candidate to become a Natura 2000 site of European significance.
However, fluctuating water levels and shrinking shoreline habitats are threatening its status, driven by climate change and manmade pressures, from agriculture to tourism.
The lake is one of 11 areas put forward by North Macedonia to join the European Union’s Natura 2000 network of some 27,000 protected natural areas within the bloc, but it can only actually join when North Macedonia joins the EU.
Hostage to a dispute with neighbouring Bulgaria over history and identity, no one knows when accession might happen, leaving Lake Dorjan in limbo.
“It is necessary to change the approach towards this area, because Dojran is not a destination for the development of mass and conventional tourism,” said the environmental association Milieukontakt.
“This is a protected Ramsar area with exceptionally important natural values, combining different habitats and sensitive ecosystems that need to be preserved. Development must be based on sustainability, ecotourism and protection of natural heritage, rather than intensive urbanisation and excessive exploitation.”
‘A bird follows what it needs’
For the past 38 years, Zlate Taleski has measured Lake Dojran’s water levels for the Hydrometeorological Administration. Photo: BIRN.
Around a third of all bird species identified in North Macedonia can be found around Lake Dojran.
Among the most important are the Dalmatian pelican, which feeds in Dojran but nests in nearby Kerkini, the pygmy cormorant, which also nests around the lake, the red-crested pochard and the black-necked grebe.
The lake’s appeal, however, is the result of a delicate balance between natural phenomena – fish populations, aquatic life, reeds, plants and a clean shoreline.
For the past 38 years, Taleski has measured Lake Dojran’s water levels for the Hydrometeorological Administration. In that time, the amount of rain filling the lake has dropped sharply, he told BIRN.
“Dojran used to have an average of around 500 to 700 litres of rainfall, but now we have around 280, 300, 340, which is minimal,” said Taleski.
The Gjavato hydro system directs additional water to the lake, but this cannot compete with nature.
“We didn’t see rain all summer,” said Taleski. “It is good that the hydro system is flowing. It supplies cold water and therefore reduces evaporation. Every drop that enters is useful and welcome, but nature does what it does.”
Birds near the Mrdaja camp in Dojran. Photo: BIRN.
Where summer temperatures used to reach 35 to 37 degrees Celsius, Taleski said they now hit 42.
“A bird follows what it needs,” he said. “If it doesn’t suit here, it goes somewhere else.”
One of the most important factors is the lake’s reed belt, used for nesting.
The belt has been cut back by encroaching agricultural activities; in the village of Nikolich, for example, reeds have been replaced by cabbage fields, the lake water used for irrigation.
“There is a conversion of the belt into agricultural land, which puts pressure on invertebrates and birds,” said Despina Kitanova, head of protected areas at the Macedonian Ecological Society.
A revitalisation plan, drawn up in 2021 by Milieukontakt and experts from its international partners and covering the period 2022-2032, called for the reed zone to be expanded by some 100,000 square metres, but it never passed the municipal council.
Likewise, a management plan for the lake, drawn up by Milieukontakt in partnership with the Municipality of Dojran, has yet to be adopted by the government, even though the period it covers – 2026-2035 – is already underway.
“Everything depends on the terrain,” said Danka Uzunova, an ornithologist at the Macedonian Ecological Society. “The water fluctuates a lot, the shoreline changes, and if the coastal habitats are gone, the birds will not be present either.”
Time running out
Agriculture is pushing out the reeds, which are crucial for nesting. Photo: BIRN.
Studies have shown that the Natura 2000 umbrella has slowed the degradation of protected areas.
A 2021 study by French scientists found that bird populations declined significantly less in areas included in the network than in areas outside it.
Natura 2000 does not mean a complete ban on human activity, however. Instead, it aims to ensure that valuable habitats and species are protect…
Read the full article at Balkan Insight (BIRN) →
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