North Macedonia’s Dojran Lake, a key bird sanctuary, may become part of Natura 2000, the European Union’s network of protected natural areas. If it can hold on that long.
Goce Trpkovski
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The belt has been cut back by encroaching agricultural activities; in the village of Nikolich, for example, reeds have been replaced by cabbage fields, the lake water used for irrigation.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
