site.btaNorth Macedonia Gets UNESCO Extension to Prevent Ohrid Region Being Added to Endangered List

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee, which held its session in South Korea, has postponed the listing of the Ohrid Region as World Heritage in Danger. North Macedonia has been given until 2030 to implement the organization's recommendations on protecting the region, Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister Timco Mucunski told a news conference.

North Macedonia and Albania must submit a timeline for implementing the strategic plan for preserving the region, while a new progress report is due by early February 2027, Mucunski said.

He described the UNESCO World Heritage Committee's decision as a significant step forward, but not the end of the process.

"Diplomacy secured time; now all responsible institutions must implement concrete measures and deliver visible results through the full implementation of the commitments undertaken," Mucunski said.

The minister said that specific cases needed to be addressed individually, noting that some issues fell under shared responsibility between central and local authorities. Regarding illegal construction, he said that such buildings should be removed in an appropriate and lawful manner, not only in Ohrid but elsewhere as well.

Audit reports indicate that Ohrid Municipality has not adopted urban plans for 20 settlements, and no action has been taken to remove 4,847 illegal structures despite 456 legally binding decisions issued between 2019 and 2024, Deutsche Welle reported. UNESCO has also raised concerns over urban installations in protected areas built without permits and without payment of municipal fees. The committee has focused as well on the construction of Corridor 8, calling for alternative solutions to be considered and for an assessment of the possible impact of infrastructure projects on the protected area.

The opposition Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) said the problems were unchanged for decades, citing illegal construction, pollution, destruction of the shoreline and unfulfilled obligations. "It is simply another deadline, an excuse for a government that has proven it does not even know how to protect drinking water, let alone world heritage," the party said in a statement.

The preservation of Ohrid has long been raised by NGOs and experts in North Macedonia, who argue that listing the region as World Heritage in Danger could provide the country with access to UNESCO expertise and mechanisms to help address problems.

At last year's UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting in Paris, North Macedonia and Albania were given a one-year extension to meet a series of obligations stemming from recommendations in UNESCO monitoring mission reports.

In February, a government delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Aleksandar Nikoloski visited UNESCO headquarters in Paris to discuss the country's efforts to preserve the Ohrid Region's natural and cultural heritage status.

The Ohrid Region was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979. In 2019, the site was extended to include the Albanian part of Lake Ohrid, making it a transboundary World Heritage property. Ohrid is among Europe's oldest settlements, with archaeological remains dating from the Bronze Age to the Middle Ages. Lake Ohrid is a unique habitat for numerous endemic freshwater species of flora and fauna.