Three country agreement for protection of Prespes wetland

Greece, Albania and FYROM will sign a formal agreement for protection of the unique Prespes Lakes wetland on Tuesday, on the 10th anniversary of the declaration of the Balkans' first transboundary eco-agreement,which also coincides with World Wetlands Day, when the prime ministers of the three countries pledged in a February 2, 2000 Joint Communique their commitment to cooperate to protect the Prespes ecosystem.

At the initiative of Greek prime minister George Papandreou, an informal summit of the three countries' premiers took place on November 27, 2009 at the Ramsar-protected Prespa National Park (Pyli Information Center and exhibitions facility), to discuss cooperation prospects in the protection and sustainable development of the Prespa National Park region, which straddles the borders of all three countries.

In a follow-up to that informal meeting between Papandreou, Albanian prime minister Sali Berisha and FYROM prime minister Nikola Gruevski, the environment ministers of the three countries -- Tina Birbili of Greece, Fatmir Mediu of Albania and Nexhati Jakupi of FYROM -- will sign the agreement, with European Commissioner for the environment Stavros Dimas representing the EU, while Ramsar Convention senior advisor for Europe Tobias Salathe is expected to make a brief statement.

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