RIVER CHERAVA WATERSHED:
STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT REPORT

Oliver Avramoski, ALLCOOP, Macedonia

In September 2002, the Alliance for Lake Cooperation in Ohrid and Prespa and the Society Tourism and Environment initiated the project “Save the Transboundary Cherava River: Development of the Cherava River Basin Management Plan”. The project was supported by the Open Society Institute. Drawing on the experience gained during the implementation of the Lake Ohrid Conservation Project, the idea behind this project was to promote watershed management at the sub-basin level in the Lake Ohrid watershed by establishing local sub-watershed planning groups or sub-watershed associations. Ultimately the aim was to extend the involvement of the local stakeholders and achieve more locally relevant solutions that take into account each community's unique social, economic, and environmental conditions and values.

Within the Lake Ohrid watershed, the Cherava River sub-watershed presents a distinct opportunity for applying a watershed management approach. The Cherava is the only transboundary river in the Lake Ohrid watershed. The available data indicate that the Cherava River carries the heaviest loads of phosphorus and bacteria to Lake Ohrid of any river flowing into the lake. Most of the pollution within the Cherava River watershed originates on the Albanian side, however much of the impact is in the littoral zone of Lake Ohrid around the mouth of the river in Macedonia. This is a critical economic and ecological area that needs to be managed for nature conservation and tourism.  Therefore dealing with the problems of the Chereva River is a matter of significant importance bearing on the relations between Macedonia and Albania and raises issues of international responsibility and transboundary environmental governance. A watershed management approach stressing the environmental health of the Cherava River is thus a catalyst for promoting ecological health and economic stability in and around Lake Ohrid, and strengthening transboundary cooperation in the management of Lake Ohrid in general.

"The Assessment Team" members on the foeld trip to the Cherava River Watershed

The overall goal of this project is to support the people living in the Cherava River watershed in their pursuit of economic and social development while maintaining and improving the quality of their natural environment. More specifically, the project aims to:

• Establish a collaborative management scheme for land, water and living resources that promotes conservation and sustainable use in an equitable way.

• Promote voluntary and consensus-oriented interaction between citizens, business interests, environmental interests and local governments in the Cherava River watershed as well as between the governments of Albania and Macedonia.

• Prepare a management plan for the Cherava River watershed.

As part of the project, a joint Albanian/Macedonian local watershed planning group – The Cherava River Watershed Council (CRWC) - will be established to serve as an organizational body for implementing the watershed planning process. To promote and facilitate the involvement of local and regional authorities and the public in establishing the CRWC a core group for the Cherava River Watershed Council was formed at a kick-off workshop in the beginning of October 2002.

This report provides an overview of information on the state of the environment in the Cherava River watershed.  It is meant to support the CRWC’s effort to develop and prioritize issues and problem-solving activities by acting as a sound information base derived from multiple sources and methods. While the process of establishing the CRWC is underway, this report may serve as an information resource for developing the Cherava River Watershed Management Plan once the Council members are selected. The information in this report was collected from a wide range of sources. The Report was developed in a consultative manner drawing on the experience and input of people from government (state, regional and local), non-governmental organisations and the community. A two-day field-trip was organized in October 2002 in the Cherava River watershed for the Assessment Team members to collect more data through direct observation and interviews with community members. This important resource for watershed planning comes from a variety of sources - personal observation, key contacts, technical staff, books and reports, government records, the media, and scientific studies. Together, these multiple sources of information have provided us with a broad understanding of the issues in the basin and can help us make better decisions about the future.

While both ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ information are important in planning, this report and the information that it contains ultimately draws on the best available knowledge given limited resources and time. ‘Hard’ information that is systematically developed from reliable sources and methods is especially important in this project as it provides us with an objective view of what is happening and why. ‘Soft’ information is subject to greater interpretation and provides insight into how people think about their situation. There is a shortage of ‘hard’ information (i.e., information collected through formal systems that can be checked for their accuracy, such as census data, formal surveys, sampling, etc.) on the Albanian part of the watershed. Understanding the Albanian side of the watershed, therefore, has emphasized the use of ‘soft’ information consisting of local views and perceptions and personal observations. Any gaps in information will be addressed in future stages of the planning process. The final product is the professional judgment of the author and does not necessarily reflect the view of each and every member on the Assessment Team.