Volunteers from three countries cleaned the banks of the Great Prespa

Three mayors from three different countries, together with their citizens, cleaned the beaches and the banks of the Great Prespa. The initiative of the mayors Panagiotis Paschalidis (municipality of Prespa), Jovan Toziefski (municipality of Resen, North Macedonia), Pali Kolevski (municipality of Pustec Albania), who share the Great Prespa, had as a common slogan «Trash free Prespa!» and took place in the framework of the events for the World Environment Day.

On the Greek side of the Prespa, schoolchildren and people of all ages, with the contribution of the municipality of Prespa in terms of logistical infrastructure, poured into the area of the Koula outpost, at the point where the Little and the Great Prespa rivers meet, on the beach of the Greek National Tourism Organization, as well as on the beach of the border village of Psarades, collecting plastic, paper and all kinds of waste that pollute the shores of the lake and pose a danger to birds and fish. From photos and videos exchanged by the three mayors, it seems that many young children and adults, with their mayors in the lead, combed the shores of the lake around the villages of the municipality of Pustec in Albania and Resen in North Macedonia. As the mayor of Prespes, Panagiotis Paschalidis, told APPE-MPA, more than 350 volunteers from all three countries took part in the environmental action and covered a shoreline of almost 100 km in one of the largest and oldest lakes in the Balkans and Europe.

The three municipalities have a long-standing cooperation and actions for the protection of the environment and the sustainable development of the cross-border Prespes region, either through their own initiatives, or in the framework of European programmes, or in the framework of the cross-border cooperation for the Prespes Park, which started with a Greek initiative in 2000 and today continues with even stronger ties. Paschalidis explained that the first meeting of the bodies of the cross-border park, with representatives from the three countries and the European Union, will take place on 23 and 24 June 2022 in Prespes Gate.

The volunteers from all three countries were given commemorative gifts, hats and t-shirts, while the environmental actions are supported by the respective cross-border cooperation programmes of the European Union, Interreg-IPA CBC Greece - Republic of North Macedonia, and Interreg-IPA CBC Greece - Albania.

Late in the afternoon, the three mayors met on the Greek side of the Prespa River in Lemos Prespes, where they exchanged views and shared experiences from the joint initiative with Mayor Panagiotis Paschalidis.

Spyros Koutavas