October, 2018

PONT has been selected, from over 200 submissions, as the winner of the 2018 Pathfinder Award. The Award, which recognizes outstanding and innovative solutions for protected and conserved areas, is presented by the United Nations Development Programme; the International Union for Conservation of Nature; the World Commission on Protected Areas; and WildArk, and supported by the Biodiversity Finance Initiative and PANORAMA. The winners of the award were determined through …

PONT recently facilitated a successful exchange between the Society for Protection of Prespa (SPP), GIZ CSBL (Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity at Lakes Prespa, Ohrid and Shkodra/Skadar – Phase III) and the Albanian Transboundary Biosphere Reserve Prespa Project – Phase II. On 14 and 15 October, several sites were visited on the Greek side of Prespa with a focus on Small Prespa Lake, which straddles Albania and Greece. …

PONT has recently engaged an international independent consultant, Jernej Stritih, to support Protected Area authorities in the Wider Prespa Area in enhancing their capacity for effective management of operations and assets. With a focus on co-financing operational costs of Protected Areas, PONT requires that the Protected Area authorities submit an updated annual operational plan, monitoring plan and budget as part of their grant applications. PONT’s Framework Agreements with the …

A team from the 100 Villages Academy, focusing on villages in the region of Lake Ohrid and Lake Prespa, presented initial proposals for how to strengthen tourism development at two events in Korça, on Friday 28 September. The team lived in Gorice e Vogel, inside Lake Prespa National Park, for four weeks, beginning in mid August, while also working in the villages of Lin, Tushemisht, Gurras, Zvirinë, and Zaroshkë. …

Joint initiatives for the Prespa region were presented in Tirana on 25 September 2018. The event brought together approximately 50 stakeholders, including government and numerous institutions, that are working in the wider Ohrid-Prespa ecoregion, highlighting the importance of German-Albanian cooperation through the Prespa Ohrid Nature Trust and the Transboundary Biosphere Reserve Prespa Project – Phase II to the conservation efforts in the region. Phase II of the Transboundary Biosphere …