Prespa e Vogël: From lake to reed bed, a vanishing natural heritage

Once a rare natural treasure and one of the most beautiful and unique lakes in the Balkans, Little Prespa is steadily losing its identity as a lake. What was once a shimmering body of water reflecting the sky and sheltering hundreds of bird species and aquatic life is now turning into a silent marshland overtaken by reeds.

Water levels have dropped drastically to the point where, in some areas, the boundary between land and lake has disappeared entirely. Beds once submerged are now dry, covered by vegetation typical of damp, but no longer water-covered, terrain especially reeds that are irreversibly overtaking the landscape.

This is not just a matter of aesthetics or changing scenery. Little Prespa is an ecosystem of international importance, part of the protected areas network and the Ramsar Convention. The loss of water poses a serious threat to biodiversity, especially to species like the Dalmatian pelican, which relies on the lake as one of its key nesting sites.

The causes are many and complex: climate change leading to reduced rainfall and increased evaporation; lack of sustainable water management in the region; and likely also the impact of irresponsible human activity in the surrounding area.

What’s undeniable is that Little Prespa is quietly disappearing and with it, a part of Albania’s and the entire Prespa region’s natural heritage.

Today, looking out from its shores, one no longer sees rippling waters, but a silent forest of reeds a landscape that speaks of absence, neglect, and the deep ecological imbalance that is taking hold.

Little Prespa is not just a treasure at risk of vanishing it is a call for reflection and action. Because if we don’t change course, one day it may exist only as a memory, a name on the map with no connection to what once was.

“KORÇA BOOM”