LocationsOn International Day for Biodiversity, three agents of change reveal how biodiversity is not an abstract environmental issue — it is livelihoods, identity, resilience, and future generations.
Nature Keeps Our Stories Alive
May 14, 2026
Before sunrise, the wetlands of Ezerani Nature Park are already alive.
The reeds move softly with the wind. Pelicans glide low over the water. Somewhere in the distance, birds call across the marshes as the first light reaches the shores of the Prespa Region.
Zlatko Pandevski, a ranger from the Nature Park, walks quietly along a narrow path through the wetland, binoculars hanging from his neck. For years, this has been his routine. Long before most people wake up, he is already observing water levels, tracking bird movements, and watching for signs that the ecosystem is changing.
As a ranger of Ezerani, this experienced guardian has witnessed both decline and recovery. He has seen seasons when bird populations dropped and years when illegal dumping and unsustainable practices threatened fragile habitats. But he has also seen nature respond when communities begin to care for it again.
Through efforts supported by UNDP and partners, work is underway to strengthen ecosystem protection, restore habitats, and help communities understand that biodiversity is deeply connected to their own future.
For him, conservation is no longer only about protecting species.
“It’s about protecting balance,” he says. “Nature gives us signs when balance is returning.”
Nearby, scientists and conservation experts are working quietly to protect some of North Macedonia’s most fragile ecosystems from threats that many people never see.
At the Hydrobiological Institute in Ohrid, Dušica Ilik Boeva spends much of her time studying the delicate balance of life inside Prespa Lake. In recent years, one growing concern has become impossible to ignore — the spread of “sončarka,” an invasive fish species that threatens the lake’s native biodiversity.
“Prespa Lake is one of Europe’s oldest lakes, with species that exist nowhere else in the world. It is home to numerous endemic species and sensitive biological communities. she explains while reviewing monitoring data collected from the field. “When invasive species enter such sensitive ecosystems, they can rapidly disrupt the natural balance.”
Soncarka competes with native fish for food and habitat, placing additional pressure on already vulnerable aquatic species. Scientists fear that without continuous monitoring and coordinated protection efforts, the lake’s unique ecosystem could face long-term consequences.
For Dušica, biodiversity protection is not only about saving individual species — it is about protecting entire ecosystems that communities, fisheries, tourism, and future generations depend on.
Through research, field monitoring and development of sustainable methods for biomass management, and cooperation with local institutions and environmental initiatives supported by UNDP and partners, experts are working to better understand the impact of invasive species and strengthen conservation efforts around Prespa Lake.
But she believes science alone is not enough.
“People protect what they understand,” she says. “When communities realize that the health of the lake is directly connected to their own future, protection becomes a shared responsibility.”
For Dušica, safeguarding biodiversity also means building stronger cooperation between scientists, institutions, local communities, and young people — ensuring that knowledge leads to action before fragile ecosystems reach a breaking point.
A few kilometers away, Aleksandar Dimovski, a 28-year-old farmer and seventh-generation wine maker from the village of Arvati, walks between rows of vineyards stretching across the hills of Prespa. The morning sun slowly warms the vines as he checks the grapes by hand, stopping occasionally to examine the soil beneath his feet.
For the young wine producer, vineyards are more than agriculture — they are family history, local identity, and a living connection to the land. While Prespa is widely known for its apple production, Aleksandar chose a different path: cultivating authentic local grape varieties that are often considered unusual for the region’s climate and terrain.
In recent years, he has noticed how changing weather patterns directly affect the vineyards. Longer droughts, sudden storms, and shifting seasons have made traditional knowledge less predictable. For small local producers, protecting healthy ecosystems has become essential for maintaining both quality and resilience.
In the apple-growing region of Prespa, adding vineyards helps increase biodiversity, supports healthier ecosystems, and reduces the environmental and economic risks linked to growing only one crop. Monoculture makes farms more vulnerable to pests and diseases, weakens the soil, reduces natural habitats, and makes farmers more exposed to climate changes and price drops in the market.
Through initiatives supported by UNDP and local partners, young producers like him are increasingly exploring how to add value to agricultural products hand in hand with the tourism offer of Prespa.
“We are not only producing wine,” he says. “We are preserving a story that belongs to this region.”
Different lives. Different experiences.
But connected by one understanding: nature is not separate from people.
The wetlands, the vineyards, the forests, the lakes — they sustain livelihoods, protect communities, and shape the future of generations to come.
Protecting biodiversity is not only about conserving nature, but also about protecting the systems that sustain life itself.
