News

While the cycle of wetland management with vegetation mowing in the littoral zone has been completed, work continues with the monitoring of these areas, the results of which will give direction to next year’s management work. 

Last week the Society for the Protection of Prespa hosted a two-day meeting with the participants of the "SOS Skadar lake-Keeping the Montenegrin Wilderness Wild" project for the protection and management of the transboundary Skadar/Shkodra Lake (Montenegro-Albania), which is being implemented by the Montenegrin environmental organisation CZIP. 

The PrespaNet partners strengthened cross-border co-operation by working together to map and assess wetland habitats in Prespa, producing a transboundary plan for how to protect these vitally important places for the first time.

A highly active team of cattle farmers, together with SPP & MBPNP personnel, have been mowing reeds around the lake throughout the summer and autumn, with the guidance and help of scientists and local bodies, resulting in more than 300 bales of reed biomass being distributed to local stockbreeders.

Rivers that flow in their natural courses, without being boxed in or dammed, are positive for both nature and people. The restoration of this natural flow is a priority of the European Green Deal and the EU Biodiversity Strategy, which aim to restore at least 25,000 km of rivers by 2030.

The prolonged drought and high temperatures of this summer forced local farmers to adapt their farming practices to those conditions, with the result that the October rains were catastrophic for a large part of the bean harvest. 

The five-year project LIFE Prespa Waterbirds was completed and in the following publication you can find concise information on project actions and their results, as well as on the cooperation among stakeholders and authorities of the area.
 

Our long-term work on the protection and conservation of the Prespa wetlands, as well as a wide range of media and materials that were created for related summer schools and educational activities, have been gathered together in an online wetland management and monitoring toolkit.

An underrated cultivation method

In the low-lying areas surrounding the lakes, people have been cultivating for centuries. The soils here have two significant disadvantages for farmers. In many places the groundwater is very close to the surface often creating marshes which made ploughing difficult and consequently sowing was not possible. 

A story about Prespa, the wetland and cooperation.

"Everything is a cycle. By helping one element, you help complete the whole circle."

This is how the fisherman, George Paraskevopoulos, summarizes the content of the documentary "Wings, Wetlands and People", which encapsulates the activities and aims of the LIFE Prespa Waterbirds project.