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.
The online wetland management and monitoring toolkit completed
Technical and operational details, and the use of the amphibian cutter in wetland management operation were the main issues discussed during a visit of staff from the Management Body of the Evros Delta in Thrace.
The documentary about Prespa, wetlands and cooperation is now available on SPP's YouTube channel.
Farmers, stock-breeders and fishermen of the area participated in stakeholder group meetings, organized as part of the final assessment of the socio-economic impact of the project.
During the online event WWF Panda Youth Awards, the Presplorers presented and excelled for their field activities and their short movie
A cycle of webinars on "wetland management and monitoring" started today for site managers across the transboundary Prespa basin.
The fourth meeting of the Transboundary Wetland Management Technical Group was carried out online, with the participation of representatives from the national parks and the protected areas of the Prespa basin, as well as environmental NGOs, working for the conservation of the area.
Τhe project’s field team started monitoring the use of the managed areas by the target species of the project as feeding sites and monitoring of fish spawning with sampling activities in the restored stream mouths of Lake Lesser Prespa.
On the 26th February 2021, the annual meeting of the Wetland Management Committee was convened online, enabling discussions on the implementation of management in 2020 and the proposals from wetland management for 2021.
Through aerial photos we try to assess the effects of the sudden cold weather, as this year the first eggs were born earlier than any other year.
On the occasion of World Wetlands Day, 2nd of February, the Presplorers presented their movie “People and naiads, myths and truths”, where they document water and biodiversity issues, through the stories of local people and the contributions of scientists.
On the 16th January, the annual midwinter counts of waterbirds were completed in the transboundary Prespa basin with the participation of many organisations and volunteers from the three countries.
The early arrival of Dalmatian pelicans to breed in the area on the 5th January, signaled the start of the monitoring actions for the species.
The fourth newsletter with news and development of the project activities was distributed to local residents and businesses in Prespa.
The third meeting of the Transboundary Wetland Management Technical Group was carried out online, with the participation of 18 representatives from the national parks and the protected areas of the Prespa basin, as well as environmental NGOs, working for the conservation of the area.
The creation of firebreaks in the reedbed was completed for 2020.
Vegetation management interventions were completed in three selected drainage channels, aiming to reduce the risk of fires spreading from the agricultural zone into the reedbed.
Monitoring activities were completed for 2020, with a visit to assess the conditions on pelican colonies.
With the end of the cultivation period and the collection of beans, the 2-year experimental use of reed as soil conditioner was completed and results are expected by March 2021.
The Presplorers set out to record changes of the shore in Lesser Prespa that they had visited again at the beginning of spring.
Most of the vegetation monitoring activities by Tour du Valat were competed.
The largest part of field monitoring activities for pelican colonies was completed for 2020.
Brief networking meeting with LIFE ATIAS organized in Prespa.
The fieldwork for wetland habitat mapping commenced.
Vegetation cutting activities started in the littoral zone of Lake Lesser Prespa by stock-breeders.
Waterbird monitoring activities continue intensively. We implemented the "Arrival-Departure" method, which provides a good estimate of the population trends of pygmy cormorant and small herons nesting in dense and inaccessible reedbeds.
Monitoring of fish commenced with sampling activities in the restored stream mouths of Lake Lesser Prespa.
Actions of the LIFE Prespa Waterbirds projects featured in the webinar titled “the biodiversity of Prespa”, which was organized by the Department of Forestry and Management of the Agricultural University of Athens.
Results of the research on climate change effects on bean cultivations were published in the Euro-Mediterranean Journal for Environmental Integration by the project partner National Observatory of Athens.
Great white egrets spotted feeding within firebreaks along the reedbed created by the LIFE Prespa Waterbirds project, which are currently the only areas with shallow water and no reed vegetation.
This month the project’s field team started monitoring the use of the managed areas by the target species of the project as feeding sites in order to assess the impact of vegetation management.
Τhe wardens of the Management Body for the Prespa National Park, in collaboration with the LIFE Prespa Waterbirds team, once again renewed the red buoys around the pelican colonies on Lesser Prespa Lake, as they do every year, aiming to prevent disturbance to the birds from passing boats.
In their second meeting about different types of creative writing, the Presplorers began to write their own diary, filling it with colours, poems, sketches and photos from their experiences of the project actions.
The cycle of activities to restore the mouths of certain streams has been completed, with the last works carried out in the Mikrolimni stream. Likewise, the activities for firebreak protection for 2019-2020 have also been finished, with the last interventions in drainage ditches now completed.
The second phase of experimentation on the use of biomass as soil conditioner started with the application of reed biomass in three cultivated fields.
This year, World Wetlands Day was celebrated with the pupils of the schools of Prespa through activities highlighting the importance of biodiversity for wetlands.
The “Presplorers” carried out their own midwinter counts of waterbirds in the wetlands of the area.
The LIFE Prespa Waterbirds participated in the 1st meeting of the project LIFE ARCPROM in Prespa, and provided information on the presence of large mammals in the wetland of Lake Lesser Prespa and the threats they face.
The unusuall warm winter weather has brought back the first Dalmatian pelicans worryingly early, the earliest nesting date we've ever recorded in fact.
The 2020 calendar, which is dedicated to the project activities, as well as the collaboration with project partners and the local community, was disseminated.
The third newsletter with news and development of the project activities was distributed to local residents and businesses in Prespa.
With aim of protecting waterbird colonies from wildfires, and following official approval from the Public Property Service, 9 firebreak zones were created along the shoreline of Lesser Prespa Lake and around the breeding colonies, while vegetation was also removed from 3 selected drainage channels.
Project works in the streams at Lefkona and Mikrolimni were completed for 2019, with the use of the project’s specialised amphibian machine to cut reeds at the stream mouths.
With the co-ordinated joint efforts of the project team and private stockbreeders, 83 ha of wetland vegetation was cut in the littoral zone of Lesser Prespa Lake.
The project participated in the meeting for the networking of the Greek LIFE Nature & Biodiversity projects, which was held in the premises of the Green Fund on the 23th and 24th of October. The meeting was co-organized by two LIFE projects: the Integrated project LIFE-IP 4 Natura and the Capacity Building project Greek LIFE Task Force.
Presplorers visited the island of Agios Achillios and filmed the last shots for their documentary. Now all that’s left is to edit their material.
Mowing is being carried out as part of the LIFE Prespa Waterbirds project, with the cut material being bound in round bales and made available to local stockbreeders.
This time we spoke with a local fisherman and a local stockbreeder.
The Presplorers club is continuing its activities with cinematography seminars at the public library in Laimos, learning how to make their own documentary.
The 2nd meeting of the Transboundary Wetland Management Technical Group (TWMTG) was carried out in Prespa, with the participation of representatives from the national parks and the protected areas of the Prespa basin, as well as environmental NGOs, working for the conservation of the area.
The monitoring of the ferruginous duck breeding population started and it will continue until the end of July.
After the restoration of two stream mouths, the project’s field team started the monitoring of the fish spawning grounds.
On Sunday, April 14 2019, the Presplorers visited Buskani, a Lesser Prespa lake shore, with the aim of discovering elements of the shore that change seasonally.
Using the amphibious reed harvester, the project field team created a free of vegetation zone which functions as a fire break around the waterbirds colonies in Mikros Kambos area.
The LIFE Prespa Waterbirds was presented to an informative event for the European LIFE programme funding, organized by the Green Fund and the Greek LIFE Task Force under the project LIFE14 CAP/GR/000003 – GR LTF.
With PrespaWings everyone can enjoy the exciting experience of birdwatching in the Prespa National Park. The app is available for Android and will soon be available for IOS too.
This month the project’s field team started monitoring the use of the managed areas by the target species of the project as feeding sites in order to assess the impact of vegetation management.
A meeting was organized by the Management Body of Prespa National Park in order to address the threat of wildfires in the national park.
The Great White Egrets started nesting in the colony of Mikros Kampos at the reedbed of Lesser Prespa.
Unfortunately, more than 300 ha of wetland vegetation have been burned this spring.
The first phase of experimentation on the use of biomass as soil conditioner started with the application of reed biomass in three cultivated fields.
With the arrival of the amphibian machinery for reed cutting all the necessary equipment of the project for wetland management has been acquired.
A large wildfire burned part of the reedbed of Lesser Prespa, threatening the colonies of the Dalmatian pelicans.
The Dalmatian pelicans started to breed in their colonies at the north part of Lesser Prespa.
Launching event of the photographic exhibition “Our landscape changes” by the youth club “Presplorers” in the Municipal Library of Laimos.
The workshop for responding to disease outbreaks in waterbirds was held in late November highlighting the collaboration of Prespa National Park Management Body, the Municipality of Prespa and the Society for the Protection of Prespa.
Cooperation with the Centre for Technological Research of Western Macedonia and local farmers has been established for assessing the use of reed biomass as soil conditioner.
Restoration works for the function of the Lefkona stream mouth have started
On Friday 23rd November a workshop with local and regional stakeholders and representatives from management bodies was held for responding to disease outbreaks in the framework of Action E6
Up to now about 25 ha have been managed and the cut biomass is collected in round bales to be distributed to stock-breeders and farmers.
The most important action of the LIFE Prespa Waterbirds project has begun! The SPP field team, equipped with the appropriate machinery, started the management of the reedbed of Lesser Prespa Lake.
Presplorers’ autumn activities began with a photography competition.Children and teenagers photographed Prespa, wrote a Haiku to go with their photos and were rewarded for their creativity
Tour du Valat researchers are working in the reedbeds of Lake Lesser Prespa, and more specifically in the areas where vegetation management will take place this year. The establishment of a sampling network that will be monitored from now on will contribute to assessing the effects of the management actions on the vegetation structure and plant diversity.
Water and reedbed management issues were the focus of the networking visit by the Bulgarian Biodiversity Foundation (BBF) and the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) implementing LIFE11 NAT/BG/000362, to the LIFE Prespa Waterbirds team in Prespa.
11 Jul 2018
Shooting for the documentary
Monitoring of the experimental plots, which were established last year within the framework of Prespa Waterbirds, has started. The results will serve as guidelines for the active management of the reedbeds, while they will contribute to the ecological assessment of the changes that have been observed in the reedbeds of Lake Lesser Prespa in recent years.
The second day of environmental education was implemented in the primary school of Agios Germanos and was about the World Migratory Bird Day
The leaflet includes general information about the project, the conservation actions and the benefits for the local community and economy
The environmental education program about the World Wildlife Day, was implimented in the primary school of Agios Germanos
Yesterday, the first meeting of the Transboundary Wetland Management Committee took place at the Society for the Protection of Prespa, in Laimos.
A photography seminar was held at the Municipal Library of Prespa, and was about nature photography and its techniques.
The ‘Presplorers’ club came together for its third meeting recently, with Krina once again the starting point. Through pictures, conversations and questions the children got to know the project’s nine waterbirds much better. Other subjects were also discussed while walking the path around Agios Achilleios Island, such as the management actions that will be carried out in the reedbeds, placing particular emphasis on the importance of protecting this special ecosystem.
The Society for the Protection of Prespa held a two-day internal meeting on the subject of the course to be taken with regard to reedbed management. The results of the preparatory studies were first discussed and then decisions were taken on the design and implementation of the associated management actions.
20 Sep 2017With telescopes and binoculars the...
01 Jul 2017
Plant species assessment was carried out in the inner part of the reed bed and the highest number of observations of species were recorded in sights with shallower water.
Actions for the assessment of amphibians at the reedbeds around Lesser Prespa will be conducted throughout the week
Τhe activities began with a cycling excursion at the Agios Germanos River mouth for nature exploration and photography!
The number of the breeding pairs of waterbirds is estimated by monitoring their arrival and departure in the colony.
The assessment of the habitat use of the target species and other waterbirds started on April and will be conducted until June, systematically.
05 Apr 2017The purpose of the Steering Committee is to advise and support the Coordinating Beneficiary of the project, about the conservation and monitoring actions that will be implemented through the project.
16 Mar 2017Assessment of past changes and present situation in the dominant species (Phragmites australis/Typha angustifolia) in reedbeds
20 Dec 2016The wetland vegetation advisory group will define the specifications of the targeted surveys and management activities and provide guidance to the guidelines editing team.
15 Dec 2016