• HOME
  • ABOUT
  • PROGRAMME
  • REGION
  • DOCUMENTS
  • NEWS
  • DONATE
Prespa Ohrid Nature Trust PONT Logo
Logo Prespa Ohrid Nature Trust
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • PROGRAMME
  • REGION
  • DOCUMENTS
  • NEWS
  • DONATE
4 MIN READ

PrespaNet /PPNEA activities during 2018

12 March 2019
-
PONT News
<?php echo pulse_output(); ?>

2018 was an interesting year for Protection and Preservation of Natural Environment in Albania (PPNEA) and PrespaNet, with many activities focused on laying the groundwork for the upcoming year and projects.

Being locally active is very important for PrespaNet and its organisations.

PPNEA Local Officer

PPNEA is looking to increase its presence in the area, promote its project and raise awareness about nature protection and preservation in Prespa. As such, they have hired a local officer, Cveta Trajce. Cveta is from Prespa and will be based in the new local office to be opened in Summer 2019. She has been involved in all the project activities at a local level.

This new local presence also offers the opportunity to work more closely with the Prespa National Park staff and other local stakeholders supporting them in their work. The local approach enables everyone interested in nature and wildlife conservation and protection to get more involved, and it is also an opportunity for close communication and cooperation with the local people.

Youth engagement

The future belongs to the youth and they are those who need to know more about the importance, the values and the prosperity of Prespa. The transboundary summer school on “Nature Interpretation and Environmental Education for Prespa” hosted by PPNEA in September brought together 20 students and young practitioners from Albania, Greece and North Macedonia.

The students were trained by external experts from “Interpret Europe, European Association for Heritage Interpretation”, and the Regional Environmental Centre Albania (REC Albania). The students had their theoretical sessions at the University of Korça “Fan S. Noli” associated with outdoor teaching sessions. Following the summer school sessions, the students spent two days camping in Prespa.

Bringing young people close to Prespa and giving them the chance to see and be part of Prespa’s nature was an experience that all of them will remember. The students had also the chance to apply in practice what they were trained for during the theoretical sessions. The students obtained the basis for developing an environmental education package for Prespa that was set to be developed in the future together with the experts. We already have some participants from the summer school that are getting involved in different environmental activities, some of the students are volunteering in our activities, like the camera traps monitoring, and will be also part at the upcoming bear scat collection field trips. One of them has his own tourist agency, promoting nature and outdoor activities for young people and children. These are some results showing that the summer school has fostered further cooperation, new friendships and partnerships, and has created a group of fervent young environmentalists.

Nature and Wildlife Protection

Protection and preservation of nature and wildlife is among the main goals of our project, and what PPNEA stands for as an organisation.

PPNEA has conducted many wildlife studies before in Prespa, including the camera traps studies, but this year was the first time they conducted a coordinated transboundary camera trap wildlife monitoring study in all three sides of the Prespa basin.

The large carnivores (LC) monitoring team of PPNEA developed a detailed plan and transects that were followed during the study. Ten camera traps were placed in different locations spread both in Great and Small Prespa and were checked every ten days for a two-month period. The first transboundary large carnivore monitoring study provided us with very important data. 212 photographs and 29 videos were captured in the Albanian side of Prespa. Photos and videos of the brown bear, the wildcat, wolves, wild boar, roe deer, pine marten and other animals were captured with the camera traps.

Additionally, a transboundary study for the brown bear population was conducted during this period by the three partners. The PPNEA LC experts collected bear scats for DNA and diet analysis during the summer, autumn and winter seasons. This study will help the three organizations of the network to estimate the number of brown bears that live in the area and their movement across the three sides of the Prespa Lake basin. The total number of scats collected from PPNEA during the last season is 61 samples for diet analysis and 25 samples for DNA analysis. The new season is ahead and our LC team and volunteers are looking forward to collecting and reviewing further results. When the sample target is reached, they will be processed for diet analysis and later on for DNA analysis.

A group of volunteers, including students of biology at the Faculty of Natural Sciences from the University Fan S. Noli in Korça, are looking forward to the new season of monitoring and bear scat collection.

  • tweet 
  • share 
  • share 
  • share 
Tags
#Albania
#North Macedonia
#Prespa Lake
#Prespa National Park
#PrespaOhridNatureTrust
Greece
PONT
PPNEA
Prespa
PrespaNet
← PREVIOUS POST
Galicica National Park takes forwards leap in conservation
NEXT POST →
Growing opportunities for local Non-Timber Forest Products in Prespa

Related News

Other posts that you should not miss.

Launch of three-year grants for Protected Areas in the Wider Prespa Area

12 January 2021
-
Posted by PONT

Three-year grants for all the Protected Area Authorities in the Wider Prespa Area in North Macedonia and Albania were recently launched …

Read More →
PONT News
3 MIN READ

Pelister implements its first biodiversity monitoring programme

5 July 2021
-
Posted by PONT

Following the formal approval of the new Management Plan for Pelister National Park (2021-2030) in November 2020, developed with support from …

Read More →
PONT News
1 MIN READ

Supporting tourism partnerships for change

20 January 2020
-
Posted by PONT

In December 2019 PONT signed a grant to the Public Institution Galicica National Park (PIGNP) to cover 50% of the total costs …

Read More →
PONT News
2 MIN READ
Categories
  • PONT News
  • Press Release
Archives
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • February 2018
  • July 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • September 2016
  • May 2016
  • December 2015
Contact

Prespa Ohrid Nature Trust (PONT)
Abdi Toptani Str.,
Torre Drin Tower nr. 35,
Tirana | Albania
info@pont.org

Donations
Bank: GLS Gemeinschaftsbank eG
SWIFT: GENODEM1GLS
IBAN: DE89430609671306276100
Recent Posts
  • Empowering Mount Shara: A Collaborative Initiative for Sustainable Local Entrepreneurship in the Shar Mountain National Park
  • Ambassador of the Kingdom of The Netherlands visits Prespa!
  • Press Release – CNVP North Macedonia awards 13 grants.
  • Preserving Galicica: Chronicles of Conservation
  • Empowering Communities for Innovative Biodiversity Preservation in Korab-Koritnik and Shebenik Protected Areas!
PONT
  • About
  • Job Opportunities
  • Documents and Publications
  • Region
  • Contact
SUBSCRIBE TO NEWSLETTER!

LEGAL NOTICE/IMPRESSUM    PRIVACY POLICY    PONT JOBS    DOCUMENTS & PUBLICATIONS

© Prespa-Ohrid Nature Trust

PrespaNet /PPNEA activities during 2018 - Prespa Ohrid Nature Trust
Cookie Consent with Real Cookie Banner