Lake Ohrid and surrounding area (Albania) IBA | Summary

AL002

Lake Ohrid and surrounding area

Current view: summary

Country/territory: Albania

IBA criteria met: A1, A4i, A4iii, B1i (2000)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here

Area: 9,700 hectares (97.00 km²)

Protection and Preservation of Natural Environment in Albania

Site description (2000 baseline)
A large freshwater lake shared with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (site 005); its total area is 34,800 ha. The lake has deep waters and stony shores with no reedbeds or other emergent vegetation. On the Albanian side all the surrounding area is cultivated, mainly with corn and wheat. The lake is used for many purposes, of which fisheries are the most important.

Key biodiversity
This is an important site for wintering waterfowl, the most numerous species being Fulica atra. Counts were carried out in 1995 and 1996 (numbers given refer to waterfowl numbers for the Albanian part of the lake only); 31,000 individuals (19 species) in 1995, 46,000 individuals (17 species) in January 1996 and 28,018 individuals (17 species) in 1997.

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Lake Ohrid and surrounding area (Albania). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/lake-ohrid-and-surrounding-area-iba-albania on 23/12/2024.