Little Prespa Lake on Albanian-Greek border slowly dying

Little Prespa Lake on Albanian-Greek border slowly dying

Sub : IR

Sec: Mapping

Context:

• Plants have sprouted up as the waters of Little Prespa Lake recede, indicating that the lake is slowly dying.

Little Prespa Lake:

• Situated on the Albanian-Greek border.
• The majority of the lake sits in Greek territory, with just its southern tip crossing into Albania.
• It is also known as Small Lake Prespa and is the smaller of the two Prespa Lakes.
• The larger Great Prespa Lake is situated to its north.

Current condition:

• Formerly a crystal-clear lake vital for local fishing communities, the lake has transformed into a marshy area, with 430 of the 450 hectares having turned into swamps or dried out.

Contributing Factors:

• Environmental decline began in the 1970s due to diversion of Devoll River to irrigate fields around the nearby Albanian city of Korca.
• Climate Change: Rising temperatures and increasingly mild winters with reduced snowfall and precipitation has negatively impacted water levels.