Progress

Layman's Report

Layman's ReportThe 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.

30 Sep 2021

Wetland management toolkit

Wetland management toolkit The online wetland management and monitoring toolkit completed

20 Sep 2021

Networking on wetland management in Prespa

Networking on wetland management in Prespa  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.

30 Jun 2021

Online premiere of the documentary

Online premiere of the documentary The documentary about Prespa, wetlands and cooperation is now available on SPP's YouTube channel.

11 Jun 2021

Stakeholder group meetings

Stakeholder group meetingsFarmers, 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.

09 Jun 2021

Presplorers participation in WWF Panda Youth Awards

Presplorers participation in WWF Panda Youth AwardsDuring the online event WWF Panda Youth Awards, the Presplorers presented and excelled for their field activities and their short movie

04 Jun 2021

Webinars on wetland management and monitoring

Webinars on wetland management and monitoringA cycle of webinars on "wetland management and monitoring" started today for site managers across the transboundary Prespa basin.

26 May 2021

Fourth meeting of the Transboundary Wetland Management Technical Group

Fourth meeting of the Transboundary Wetland Management Technical GroupThe 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.

27 Apr 2021

Start of additional monitoring activities on waterbirds and fish

Start of additional monitoring activities on waterbirds and fishΤhe 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.

29 Mar 2021

Annual meeting of the Wetland Management Committee

Annual meeting of the Wetland Management CommitteeOn 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.

26 Feb 2021

First drone flight for the monitoring of pelican breeding islets

First drone flight for the monitoring of pelican breeding isletsThrough 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.

19 Feb 2021

The Presplorers present their movie

The Presplorers present their movieOn 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.

03 Feb 2021

Midwinter counts of waterbirds in Prespa

Midwinter counts of waterbirds in PrespaOn 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.

16 Jan 2021

Early start of the monitoring programme for pelicans

Early start of the monitoring programme for pelicansThe early arrival of Dalmatian pelicans to breed in the area on the 5th January, signaled the start of the monitoring actions for the species.

05 Jan 2021

The fourth project newsletter was distributed

The fourth project newsletter was distributedThe fourth newsletter with news and development of the project activities was distributed to local residents and businesses in Prespa.

23 Dec 2020

Τhird meeting of the Transboundary Wetland Management Technical Group

Τhird meeting of the Transboundary Wetland Management Technical GroupThe 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.

10 Dec 2020

Firebreaks

FirebreaksThe creation of firebreaks in the reedbed was completed for 2020.

25 Nov 2020

Management of vegetation in drainage ditch channels

Management of vegetation in drainage ditch channels 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.

20 Nov 2020

Monitoring of waterbird populations

Monitoring of waterbird populationsMonitoring activities were completed for 2020, with a visit to assess the conditions on pelican colonies.

23 Oct 2020

Experimental use of reed as soil conditioner

Experimental use of reed as soil conditionerWith 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.

17 Oct 2020

One more field trip for Presplorers

One more field trip for Presplorers The Presplorers set out to record changes of the shore in Lesser Prespa that they had visited again at the beginning of spring.

30 Sep 2020

Vegetation monitoring

Vegetation monitoringMost of the vegetation monitoring activities by Tour du Valat were competed.

31 Jul 2020

Monitoring of pelicans

Monitoring of pelicansThe largest part of field monitoring activities for pelican colonies was completed for 2020.

24 Jul 2020

Meeting with LIFE ATIAS

Meeting with LIFE ATIASBrief networking meeting with LIFE ATIAS organized in Prespa.

22 Jul 2020

Wetland habitat mapping

Wetland habitat mappingThe fieldwork for wetland habitat mapping commenced.

10 Jul 2020

Vegetation cutting activities

Vegetation cutting activitiesVegetation cutting activities started in the littoral zone of Lake Lesser Prespa by stock-breeders.

17 Jun 2020

Arrival - Departure 2020

Arrival - Departure 2020Waterbird 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.

19 May 2020

Monitoring of fish commenced

Monitoring of fish commencedMonitoring of fish commenced with sampling activities in the restored stream mouths of Lake Lesser Prespa.

21 Apr 2020

Presentation of project actions in a webinar on the biodiversity of Prespa

Presentation of project actions in a webinar on the biodiversity of PrespaActions 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.

10 Apr 2020

Publication in scientific journal

Publication in scientific journalResults 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.

04 Apr 2020

Firebreaks acting as feeding grounds

Firebreaks acting as feeding groundsGreat 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.

20 Mar 2020

The monitoring of the use of feeding sites by waterbirds started

The monitoring of the use of feeding sites by waterbirds startedThis 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.

18 Mar 2020

Placing red buoys to protect pelican colonies

Placing red buoys to protect pelican coloniesΤhe 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.

09 Mar 2020

The Presplorers’ artistic diary

The Presplorers’ artistic diary 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.

27 Feb 2020

The 2019 cycle of actions for firebreak protection and restoration of stream mouths has been completed

The 2019 cycle of actions for firebreak protection and restoration of stream mouths has been completedThe 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.

25 Feb 2020

The experimental use of reed biomass as soil conditioner continues

The experimental use of reed biomass as soil conditioner continuesThe second phase of experimentation on the use of biomass as soil conditioner started with the application of reed biomass in three cultivated fields.

19 Feb 2020

World Wetlands Day 2020

World Wetlands Day 2020This year, World Wetlands Day was celebrated with the pupils of the schools of Prespa through activities highlighting the importance of biodiversity for wetlands.

04 Feb 2020

Presplorers at the mid-winter waterbird counts

Presplorers at the mid-winter waterbird countsThe “Presplorers” carried out their own midwinter counts of waterbirds in the wetlands of the area.

24 Jan 2020

Collaboration between LIFE Prespa Waterbirds and LIFE ARCPROM for mammals in the wetland

Collaboration between LIFE Prespa Waterbirds and LIFE ARCPROM for mammals in the wetlandThe 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.

21 Jan 2020

The first Dalmatian pelicans came to Prespa

The first Dalmatian pelicans came to PrespaThe unusuall warm winter weather has brought back the first Dalmatian pelicans worryingly early, the earliest nesting date we've ever recorded in fact.

20 Jan 2020

LIFE Prespa Waterbirds calendar 2020

LIFE Prespa Waterbirds calendar 2020The 2020 calendar, which is dedicated to the project activities, as well as the collaboration with project partners and the local community, was disseminated.

20 Dec 2019

The third project newsletter was distributed

The third project newsletter was distributedThe third newsletter with news and development of the project activities was distributed to local residents and businesses in Prespa.

13 Dec 2019

Creation of firebreak zones

Creation of firebreak zonesWith 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.

12 Dec 2019

Management of stream mouth vegetation

Management of stream mouth vegetationProject 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.

28 Nov 2019

Cutting of wetland vegetation was completed for 2019

Cutting of wetland vegetation was completed for 2019With 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.

10 Nov 2019

Meeting for the networking of the Greek LIFE projects

Meeting for the networking of the Greek LIFE projectsThe 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.

29 Oct 2019

Filming for the Presplorers documentary is all done!

Filming for the Presplorers documentary is all done!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.

20 Sep 2019

Mowing continues in the reedbeds!

Mowing continues in the reedbeds!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.

02 Aug 2019

Filming continues on the documentary!

Filming continues on the documentary!This time we spoke with a local fisherman and a local stockbreeder.

11 Jul 2019

Presplorers are making their own documentary

Presplorers are making their own documentaryThe Presplorers club is continuing its activities with cinematography seminars at the public library in Laimos, learning how to make their own documentary.

04 Jul 2019

Second meeting of the Transboundary Wetland Management Technical Group

Second meeting of the Transboundary Wetland Management Technical Group 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.

09 May 2019

Monitoring the ferruginous duck breeding population

Monitoring the ferruginous duck breeding populationThe monitoring of the ferruginous duck breeding population started and it will continue until the end of July.

03 May 2019

Monitoring the spawning grounds of the fish

Monitoring the spawning grounds of the fishAfter the restoration of two stream mouths, the project’s field team started the monitoring of the fish spawning grounds.

25 Apr 2019

Presplorers record changes on the shore

Presplorers record changes on the shoreOn 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.

16 Apr 2019

Creating of fire break zones in the reedbed of Lesser Prespa

Creating of fire break zones in the reedbed of Lesser PrespaUsing 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.

08 Apr 2019

Participation in an informative event for the European LIFE programs

Participation in an informative event for  the European LIFE programsThe 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.

05 Apr 2019

PrespaWings: the new mobile application was released

PrespaWings: the new mobile application was releasedWith 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.

20 Mar 2019

The monitoring of the use of feeding sites by waterbirds started

The monitoring of the use of feeding sites by waterbirds startedThis 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.

20 Mar 2019

Meeting for the problem of wildfires in the Prespa National Park

Meeting for the problem of wildfires in the Prespa National ParkA meeting was organized by the Management Body of Prespa National Park in order to address the threat of wildfires in the national park.

15 Mar 2019

Nesting of the Great White Egrets

Nesting of the Great White EgretsThe Great White Egrets started nesting in the colony of Mikros Kampos at the reedbed of Lesser Prespa.

11 Mar 2019

Wildfires in the Prespa National Park

Wildfires in the Prespa National ParkUnfortunately, more than 300 ha of wetland vegetation have been burned this spring.

04 Mar 2019

Reed biomass as soil conditioner

Reed biomass as soil conditionerThe first phase of experimentation on the use of biomass as soil conditioner started with the application of reed biomass in three cultivated fields.

19 Feb 2019

Amphibian machinery ready for action

Amphibian machinery ready for actionWith the arrival of the amphibian machinery for reed cutting all the necessary equipment of the project for wetland management has been acquired.

18 Feb 2019

A large wildfire in the reedbed of Lesser Prespa

A large wildfire in the reedbed of Lesser PrespaA large wildfire burned part of the reedbed of Lesser Prespa, threatening the colonies of the Dalmatian pelicans.

15 Feb 2019

The breeding season of the Dalmatian pelicans started

The breeding season of the Dalmatian pelicans startedThe Dalmatian pelicans started to breed in their colonies at the north part of Lesser Prespa.

08 Feb 2019

Photo exhibition

Photo exhibitionLaunching event of the photographic exhibition “Our landscape changes” by the youth club “Presplorers” in the Municipal Library of Laimos.

02 Feb 2019

Report on the workshop with stakeholders for responding to disease outbreaks

Report on the workshop with stakeholders for responding to disease outbreaksThe 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.

19 Dec 2018

Reed biomass as soil conditioner

Reed biomass as soil conditionerCooperation 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.

11 Dec 2018

Restoration works in streams

Restoration works in streamsRestoration works for the function of the Lefkona stream mouth have started

29 Nov 2018

Workshop for responding to incidences of disease outbreak in pelicans

Workshop for responding to incidences of disease outbreak in pelicansOn 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

23 Nov 2018

Management of the wetland is at full swing!

Management of the wetland is at full swing! 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.

13 Nov 2018

Reedbed management has started

Reedbed management has startedThe 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.

15 Oct 2018

Presplorers’ autumn activities kicked off

Presplorers’ autumn activities kicked offPresplorers’ 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

02 Oct 2018

We're monitoring the reedbeds

We're monitoring the reedbedsTour 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.

23 Jul 2018

Cooperation Meeting

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

Shooting for the documentary Shooting for the documentary

29 Jun 2018

Studying the behaviour of reeds

Studying the behaviour of reedsMonitoring 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.

26 Jun 2018

Environmental Education_ World Migratory Bird Day

Environmental Education_ World Migratory Bird DayThe second day of environmental education was implemented in the primary school of Agios Germanos and was about the World Migratory Bird Day

30 May 2018

The leaflet of the project has been published

The leaflet of the project has been publishedThe leaflet includes general information about the project, the conservation actions and the benefits for the local community and economy

07 May 2018

Environmental Education_ World Wildlife Day

Environmental Education_ World Wildlife DayThe environmental education program about the World Wildlife Day, was implimented in the primary school of Agios Germanos

26 Apr 2018

First meeting of the Transboundary Wetland Management Committee

First meeting of the Transboundary Wetland Management Committee Yesterday, the first meeting of the Transboundary Wetland Management Committee took place at the Society for the Protection of Prespa, in Laimos.

28 Mar 2018

Photography seminar with the Presplorers

Photography seminar with the Presplorers A photography seminar was held at the Municipal Library of Prespa, and was about nature photography and its techniques.

02 Dec 2017

‘Presplorers’...in action!

‘Presplorers’...in action!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.

23 Sep 2017

Reedbed Management Meeting

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 2017

Environmental Education

With telescopes and binoculars the...

01 Jul 2017

Recording plant species at the reedbeds

Recording plant species at the reedbedsPlant 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.

20 Jun 2017

Assessment of amphibians

Assessment of amphibiansActions for the assessment of amphibians at the reedbeds around Lesser Prespa will be conducted throughout the week

20 Jun 2017

Environmental Education

Environmental EducationΤhe activities began with a cycling excursion at the Agios Germanos River mouth for nature exploration and photography!

27 May 2017

Arrival - Departure

Arrival - Departure The number of the breeding pairs of waterbirds is estimated by monitoring their arrival and departure in the colony.

11 May 2017

Assessment of the habitat use of the target species

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 2017

First Meeting of the Steering Committee of the LIFE project

The 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 2017

Field work for the assessment of the dynamics of the wetland vegetation has began!

Assessment of past changes and present situation in the dominant species (Phragmites australis/Typha angustifolia) in reedbeds

20 Dec 2016

Meeting of the wetland vegetation advisory group

The 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