2023 was the first year of a new five-year PONT grant to the SPP, supporting their work for biodiversity conservation in Prespa across an exciting programme of activities. Interested to see what PONT’s support is enabling the SPP to do? Read on for some selected highlights and to learn how you can find out more!
Wild and wet – research and management for wetlands, riparian forests and waterbird colonies
A vital part of conservation at Lesser Prespa Lake is managing wetland vegetation to keep areas around the lake open to flooding in spring, providing feeding waterbird grounds and spawning grounds for fish. Together with the park management and national authorities, the SPP supports local stockbreeders to remove this vegetation and use it for fodder. In 2023 around 70% of this management was carried out by stockbreeders, with the SPP using its amphibious Truxor machinery to mow in less accessible, deeper areas around the lake. Due to the addition of land in the Pyli area, which has historically not been managed due to the difficult terrain, the year saw a remarkable 360 ha of wetland managed, the largest area ever!
In addition, to minimise the impact of wildfires on reedbeds and waterbird colonies, 150 ha of firebreaks were created or maintained under the SPP’s Prespa’s Green and Blue Lifelines project, co-funded by the Donors’ Initiative for Mediterranean Freshwater Ecosystems and PONT. Thanks to this work, the spread of a wildfire to a nearby riparian forest was safely halted in February 2023. Forests in and along streams and rivers have enormous ecological value, stabilising and protecting riverbanks and wetlands; particularly alder forests, which also support unique plant diversity. In early 2023 Prespa’s Green and Blue Lifelines planted out 500 alder saplings in a pilot effort towards the eventual restoration of such forests, supported by the Agricultural University of Athens and following similar restoration work by MES in North Macedonia.
The SPP also continued its longstanding monitoring of rare and important waterbirds breeding at Lesser Prespa, often using drone technology to avoid colony disturbance and reach inaccessible parts of the wetland. 2023 was the fifth consecutive year of wetland drought conditions making large parts of the Lesser Prespa reedbeds unsuitable for nesting. At the same time new shallow water habitats, ideal for feeding, are being created around Great Prespa Lake with the fall in water levels, and the SPP works closely with its PrespaNet partners MES and PPNEA to follow this dynamic situation. With the SPP’s data stretching back decades and thus allowing comparison with previous conditions, this effort helps throw crucial light on long-term changes in order to help appropriately adapt protection measures across the basin.
Stronger together – neighbours working for nature across borders
It is a long-established principle in Prespa that sharing a transboundary lakes basin means we all benefit from working together to care for our wildlife, nature and waters. This belief led to the establishment of the Prespa Park Management Committee (PPMC) and its Working Group on Water Management (WGWM), whose second, online meetings in January 2023 the SPP successfully organised and closely supported in its role as Secretariat for the Greek members. Including representatives from all three states and the EU, these bodies were set up when Prespa became the first transboundary park in the Balkans in 2000. Their remit is to work for the sustainable development of Prespa, with the WGWM focusing on the most important shared resource of water.
The SPP has carried out persistent and systematic work over the last two decades for cross-border collaboration in the Prespa basin, with special emphasis on joint water management, and this was given warmly appreciated international recognition in 2023. The UN-Water mechanism chose transboundary co-
operation in the Prespa Park as one of only two global-level good examples it showcased in its publication “SDG 6 acceleration Snapshots” to demonstrate “what progress looks like” in the field of transboundary co-operation for water. Congratulations to the SPP on this acknowledgement for its dedicated and determined efforts over decades to achieve such ambitious and singular goals for Prespa!
In other cross-border efforts, in September PONT joined Prespa stakeholders to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the PrespaNet environmental NGO network, formed by the SPP, MES and PPNEA in 2013. PrespaNet marked the occasion by meeting each other where the borders of the three countries come together in the middle of Great Prespa Lake. They joined hands across the water to symbolise a decade of work together for Prespa’s people and nature, and warmly thanked all the countless organisations and individuals who have contributed to their work over the years, helping to bring the neighbouring countries ever closer together in shared efforts for this remarkable part of the world.
Kindling community connection – building trust and giving a voice to all
The SPP’s groundbreaking PoliPrespa project set out to invest in the social and cultural capital of Prespa, bringing different groups and interests together to work for a sustainable future. The Stavros Niarchos Foundation, lead donor for the project, which was also supported by PONT amongst others, celebrated this ambitious initiative with three uplifting videos highlighting the project pillars: community, economy and environment. PoliPrespa’s work continues with the development of an innovative Digital Platform, aiming to act as an information portal, a platform for co-operation between local stakeholders and a digital space for an online community. Due to be launched in 2024, PONT is eager to see how this exercise in strengthening local democracy and community collaboration will take its first bold steps!
In other outreach activities, the SPP’s environmental education programme taught local youngsters about “Climate change on the planet, in Greece and in our home”, tackling this urgent topic through things everyone can do to help reduce their carbon footprint and use of fossil fuels. Meanwhile, a joint effort to reduce pollution from ill-discarded waste, particularly used agrochemical containers which can be a source of pesticide pollution, has seen the SPP work with the local municipality to install new collection bins and carry out volunteer clean-up activities in the area’s river and streams, highlighting the issue at local level.
A last word…
Last but not least, the SPP launched a new website last year, with comprehensive information on all its programme and decades of work, as well as many of the resources and publications it has produced.
Follow the SPP to learn more about its work from day to day to social media
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