Conservation in action in the Pindos-Prespes Connectivity Conservation Area!

Five exciting new grant agreements have been signed in the Pindos-Prespa Connectivity Conservation Area (CCA) in Greece. Mirjam de Koning of PONT stated that ‘after years of determination and hard work a dream has come true to provide more funding dedicated to this special area for conservation’. Since 2017, PONT’s grant portfolio has grown from one to 40 grants in the PONT Focus Region stretching along the borders of Albania, Greece, and North Macedonia.

In February 2023, PONT launched an open call for proposals to enhance connectivity conservation in North-Western Greece. To prepare for this call PONT commissioned two preparatory studies. One study helped with screening stakeholders and public participation in North-Western Greece and the second study described the Pindos-Prespes CCA. Both studies were fully financed with funding from the Sigrid Rausing Trust. The call resulted in five approved grants for Greek NGOs with a duration of 1.5-2 years. The PONT contribution for these five grants will mainly come from a Sinking Fund contribution by the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation dedicated to Greece.

PONT congratulates the five winning proposals and is looking forward to a fruitful and long collaboration:

1. ARCTUROS – “Large Carnivore Connect”: an integrated approach for maintaining large carnivore connectivity in the southwestern Balkans.
2. Boulouki – “Connectivity Conservation Initiative for Fresh Drinking Water”.
3. Hellenic Ornithological Society – “Working to protect the common future of Egyptian vulture and traditional livestock farming”.
4. MedINA – “Ri-Connect: Aoos river as a transboundary ecological corridor”.
5. Pindos Perivallontiki – “Enhancing connectivity of Balkan chamois in PONT Focus Region in North-Western Greece”.

If you would like to learn more about the grants and the projects supported by PONT in the Pindos-Prespes CCA, we encourage you to visit the PONT Programme page on the Prespa Ohrid Nature Trust website (www.pont.org). By navigating to the PROGRAMME section and selecting PONT Focus Area: Conservation Connectivity from the dropdown menu on the map, you will find a more detailed information on the newly approved grants.