The Battle For Lake Ohrid

A photo from early May of heavy machinery demolishing an illegally built structure on the  Macedonian shore of Lake Ohrid
 

St. John the Theologian Church on the Macedonian shore
 
Lake Ohrid is shared by North Macedonia and Albania and is home to some of Europe’s oldest Slavic churches. In 1979, the Macedonian part of the lake was inscribed on the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites.
 

A view of Lin Village, on the Albanian side of Lake Ohrid
 
In 2019, the Albanian portion of the lake was also included on the World Heritage list.

Restaurants and guesthouses built on the edge of the lake in the Macedonian village of Trpejca
 
At the same 2019 meeting, UNESCO made a “draft decision” recommending that the lake be placed on the list of endangered world heritage.
 

A floating restaurant on the Albanian side of Lake Ohrid
 
UNESCO cited pollution, “extensive uncontrolled urban development” through illegal construction projects, and “inappropriate exploitation of the coastal zones.”

Holidaymakers relax at the edge of the lake.
 
Environmentalists say a flurry of illegal construction and the waste those properties produce are adding to the deterioration of the lake’s water quality.
 
 

A digger reportedly hired by the Ohrid municipality being used to clear the Macedonian shoreline of the lake in May
 
Local activists such as OhridSOS say recent demolitions carried out around the lake are being done only for show in an effort to placate UNESCO observers.

An overview of Ohrid town in North Macedonia
 
Some locals point to the countless illegally built structures, including established hotels, that are being left in place as insignificant constructions are targeted for demolition.
 
In 2020, paperwork was uncovered showing the owners of 416 illegally built properties on the shoreline of the Macedonian side of Ohrid had applied to have their constructions “legalized” under a controversial new law.
 

Meanwhile, some people suspect this large fire that burned through a patch of reeds in late April was lit intentionally to make way for a future illegal construction project on the Macedonian shoreline.
 

Locals watch water flow from Lake Ohrid into the River Drin.
 
UNESCO is expected to make a final decision in June on whether to place Ohrid on the inauspicious list of world heritage sites in danger.