RIVER CHERAVA WATERSHED:
STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT REPORT

Oliver Avramoski, ALLCOOP, Macedonia

Forest and biodiversity management

Trees and forests are critical to the health and proper functioning of watersheds. Forests protect water supplies, reduce flooding, replenish groundwater aquifers, provide recreation and critical fish and wildlife habitat, and yield numerous wood products. By filtering pollutants from air and water, storing water and nutrients, protecting soils, flood plains, and streams, and providing aesthetic and other human needs, forests bring significant benefits to land, watercourses, and communities. Therefore, forest degradation or deforestation, particularly of steep, unstable slopes, have many serious and adverse consequences. The direct effect of deforestation is increased soil erosion, loss of nutrients, and reduction of water retention capacity in watersheds. Rapid water discharge and increased peak flows after heavy rains may cause flooding, mainly by mountain torrents tumbling from steep slopes to the plain.  The other consequences are the deposition of sediments in the reservoirs, reducing their retention and regulation capacity, and damage to irrigation works and canals.

The forestry sector in the Albanian part of the watershed is faced with both deforestation and the management problems. The postwar government of Albania invested heavily in afforestation, however, much of this effort was counterbalanced through the clearance of forests and pastures to attain the objective of self-sufficiency in food production. The high dependency on wood for heating contributes the most to the overexploitation of forests. The electricity cuts during the winter because of the severe energy crisis in Albania and the lack of alternative sources of energy make the situation even worse. Rural poverty further boosts uncontrolled cutting as some of the fuel-wood is sold.

The illegal cutting of the forests for firewood is the most serious problem of the forestry sector in the Albanian part of the watershed

In 1997 the Albanian Government formulated the "Strategy of Agricultural Development", also known as the "Green Strategy" where the Transition to a Market-driven Economy in the Forestry Sector is one of the 6 specific policy strategies. It draws upon the assumption that weak property rights are the reason for deforestation in many areas, and also encourages resource-consumptive activities. In support of this strategy, there is an ongoing project - Albania Private Forestry Development Program - supported by the US Agency for International Development. In the frame of this project, in collaboration with the District Forest Sector of Pogradec, the chestnut plantations (considered to be orchards) around the villages of Stropska have been returned to the ex-owners. The initial results indicate that these kinds of measures may contribute to the forest (chestnut) restitution process. Furthermore, in order to protect the rich biological diversity, the Albanian part of the Cherava River watershed was included in the Protected Landscape Area of Pogradec (40o47’33’’- 41o5’33’’N and 20o35’- 20o50’E ; 273.23 km2), declared in 1999 by a decision of the Government of Republic of Albania. It covers the Albanian part of the Lake Ohrid sub-watershed, including 102.48 km2 of forests and 111.4 km2 of surface water. Despite the progress made recently, overgrazing continues to be a major threat to the ecosystems in the watershed, especially forests. Uncontrolled harvest of medicinal plants for the pharmaceutical industry also endangers the biodiversity in the watershed.

Schematic description of the interdependence betwen the land and water in a watershed

In the Macedonian part of the watershed the forest is managed by the National Park Galicica. The Macedonian part of Galicica Mountain (227 km2) was declared a national park in 1958 because of its unique natural beauty as well as the extraordinary and rich endemic flora and fauna. The main obstacle to the sustainable use of the forest is the existing financing scheme where sanitary logging constitutes the sole income of the national park. It is a matter of urgency that the National Park Galicica develops an integrated management plan in cooperation with the respective ministries and with the broad involvement of environmental NGOs and local communities.

In addition, the Macedonian part of Lake Ohrid has also been declared a protected area under the United Nations Convention on World Heritage Sites. However, the protected status of Lake Ohrid and the Macedonian Part of the Cherava River watershed is insufficient to ensure the preservation and protection of the biodiversity of the area. For example, because of the deterioration of water quality, the diversity of cyprinids fishes on the shoreline at the mouth of Cherava River is lower compared to that of cleaner sections of the shoreline at Lake Ohrid.