Draft law on Prespes transboundary park to be tabled Friday

A draft law tabled in the Greek Parliament Thursday foresees the establishment of a transboundary protected area in the Prespes lake district which Greece shares with Balkan neighbors Albania and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).

Tirana and Skopje ratified the trilateral agreement a decade ago.

Discussions on the creation of a cross-border nature reserve began in the mid-1990s, but no steps were taken until 2000, when the area was declared to be under the protection of all three countries. 

Rich in biodiversity, the area is said to be home to 260 species of birds, 1,500 types of plants, 23 kinds of fish and 60 different mammals, among which many are endemic to Prespes.

The wetland is already protected by a slew of national, European and international laws and conventions.