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The 357 km2 Ohrid Lake is the biggest lake where 146 endemic spieces live amongst which is the famous Ohrid trout. The development near Ohrid Lake is already too much. Certain areas have been destroyed inspite of their protected status such as: Katlanovo Mud and Biljana Springs. |
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Copyright© The environment of the
Republic of Macedonia |
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Ohrid Lake is one of
the oldest lakes in the World with very special and interesting flora and fauna from the
terciary period (2-4 million years old). Most of the species are endemic. Ohrid Lake was
proclaimed as World's natural and cultural heritage in 1980 by UNESCO. Parts of the lake
are environmentally inbalanced: in certain parts heavy metal and pesticide concentrations
have been found, while some species of fish such as the Carpe and Californian trout have
been introduced into the lake. This was due to the bad environmental management, the fact
that less than 25% of the waste waters were treated, and due to the polluation from the
nearby agricultural estates. The biggest pollutant is the River Grasnica that flows into
the lake taking all the untreated waste water from the Ohrid-Struga industrial area and
the sewage from the nearby settlements.
In indicator of
pollution is the concentration of pesticides (lindan and DDT) and heavy metals (mercury,
chroma, zinc, copper, arsenic and lead) in the fish. The frequent fish pestilence and the
rapid eutrophication of certain parts is yet another indicator of pollution.
