In Action: Advancing Ecological Connectivity and Community Resilience in the Smolikas-Kamenik Corridor

As Phase II of the Connectivity Conservation Initiative for Fresh Drinking Water unfolds, the collaborative efforts of Boulouki, Callisto and local communities in the Northern Pindus are entering a dynamic new chapter. With the continued support of PONT, the project focuses on the conservation of ecological corridors between habitats, ensuring that wildlife can move freely across altitudinal gradients despite the challenges posed by climate change.

Recent implementation demonstrate our structured, interdisciplinary approach is delivering tangible results across the Smolikas-Kamenik Key Ecological Corridor. Boulouki’s comprehensive desk-based and field research on structural connectivity has shown that forests dominate the landscape, providing strong habitat cohesion with minimal internal fragmentation. While natural features such as rocky ridges and human-made barriers, including roads, present localised challenges, large core habitat areas remain intact. To complement this spatial analysis, Callisto has advanced its functional connectivity assessments through ongoing biosign surveys and the strategic installation of camera traps at key water sources, including those in Pigadoulia and Monastiri, providing valuable insights into wildlife movement patterns.

Environmental monitoring remains central to understanding local climate impacts. Boulouki has deployed weather stations and temperature data loggers at water sources throughout the area. While biodiversity surveys conducted by the Biodiversity Conservation Lab of the University of Ioannina, focusing on dragonflies, butterflies and pollinators, have recorded significant ecological findings. These include the discovery of two Near Threatened species: the butterfly Phengaris alcon at Pigadoulia and the dragonfly Lestes dryas at Amarantos Lake. Empowering local residents is equally important. Public presentations of the newly released citizen science guidebook on woodland plants and fungi, together with practical training on platforms such as Pl@ntNet and apollo-eBMS in the villages of Kastaniani and Vourbiani, are helping to foster a culture of community-based environmental monitoring.

Practical conservation action has gone hand in hand with community engagement. A successful participatory workshop in Kastaniani brought together craftspeople, scientists and international volunteers to restore a traditional stone fountain and its surrounding water network. This work combined heritage preservation with an important climate adaptation measure for wildlife. To address human-carnivore coexistence, initiatives such as the Livestock Guarding Dog Network and the Bear-Wolf Intervention Team have actively engaged livestock breeders and local residents in Agia Paraskevi through targeted interviews and open discussions, promoting preventive measures to reduce human-wildlife conflicts.

Looking towards long-term conservation, the project’s scientific team has also contributed actively to the Municipality’s Local Spatial Plan. By advocating for the formal protection of Undisturbed Natural Areas and proposing the important Gyftissa-Tampouri micro-corridor as a conservation measure, the initiative is helping to ensure that ecological connectivity is integrated into future land-use planning, ecosystem service provision and socio-economic development. Through these integrated actions, Boulouki and Callisto continue to bring together science, traditional knowledge and community participation to strengthen ecological connectivity and build resilience in local communities.

By: “Boulouki”