Water Policy Strategy

The water policy strategy of the Society for the Protection of Prespa (SPP) relates to a broad spectrum of work referring to facilitation, information exchange, lobbying and advocacy, awareness raising and capacity building at the national and transboundary level. In Greece, along with the development of River Basin Management Plans for the 14 Greek river basin districts, the Ministry of Environment requested the preparation of a discrete Prespa basin management plan that would be incorporated into the Western Macedonia River Basin District Management Plan. This has been the only river basin plan to address a sub-basin nationwide and was the successful outcome of intensive lobbying efforts by the SPP, on the grounds of the environmental uniqueness and the transboundary character of the basin.

An important long-term activity in this strategy has been lobbying and technical support for the conversion of the existing irrigation system into drip irrigation, in order to reduce water abstraction from Lesser Prespa Lake, as well as decrease nutrient inputs into the same lake from surface irrigation run-off. The drip irrigation system is now being installed and the SPP continues to support and monitor the works. In addition, the SPP has also lobbied for environmentally sustainable sewage treatment in the region and the last decade has seen the construction of reedbed sewage treatment plants serving a significant majority of the Municipality of Prespa’s population.