Transboundary Cooperation / Related projects

The project "Strengthening NGO-led Collaboration to the Transboundary Prespa Basin" was implemented between 2018 and 2021 by the partners of the PrespaNet network (SPP, Macedonian Ecological Society – MES, Protection and Preservation of the Natural Environment of Albania – PPNEA) with the funding of the Prespa-Ohrid Nature Trust (PONT) and the Aage V. Jensen Charity Foundation and support by EuroNatur.Against of background of long-term efforts to foster transboundary collaboration in...

The project for Integrated Ecosystem Management in the Prespa Basin in Albania, North Macedonia and Greece, funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and other donors ran from 2006 to 2012, and included within its activities was the development of a transboundary monitoring system (TMS), which was put together in collaboration with the Society for the Protection of Prespa (SPP).As there were no common metrics for the three parts of...

The Prespa Integrated Ecosystem Management (IEMP) project was a large international project, carried out with Global Environment Facility (GEF) support. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was the implementing agency, and the project was executed in three components, one each for Albania and North Macedonia, and a transboundary component that also referred to Greece. The overall project goal was “The conservation and sustainable use of globally significant biological diversity and...

The operation of the information centre was undertaken by an NGO which was established by the Society for the Protection of Prespa (SPP) for this purpose, the Women’s Association of Lesser Prespa. As a capacity-building measure, in order to help foster environmental awareness and thus contribute to preserving the valuable natural and cultural values of this side of Lesser Prespa Lake, local people were trained as eco-guides and to run...

In the mid-1970s, the River Devoll (Deavolis in ancient sources), which flows entirely in Albania, was artificially connected with Lesser Prespa Lake, through the opening of a channel. The intervention aimed to use the waters of the lake for the irrigation of the plain of Korçë. However, over the years the sediment carried by the river steadily covered the greater part of the lake on the Albanian side. Thirty years...

The plan was the first joint project of the three neighbouring countries and one of the first steps towards the formulation of a common vision between the three peoples. Its target was to set the basis for the discussion on the future of the area and form a product of close collaboration between the NGOs actively participating and of several independent experts. The aim of the plan was to outline...

Lesser Prespa Lake, Great Prespa Lake and the slopes of the surrounding mountains make up a single natural basin, whose waters can only be protected and preserved as a whole. Thus, cultivating a shared transboundary vision for water resource management has always been a long-term goal of the Society for the Protection of Prespa (SPP). The principle of integrated river basin management is at the core of our work in...

In a nutshell, this project addresses a large proportion of the programme of the Society for the Protection of Prespa (SPP) for the overall conservation and protection of Greek and transboundary Prespa, as foreseen in the organisation’s Strategic Framework for the period 2023-2027, as well as support for core administrative and managerial work. These efforts aim to contribute to achieving the long-term goals set out in the previous strategic framework,...

AAfter collaborating closely with NGOs on the other sides of the basin for many years, in 2013 the Society for the Protection of Prespa (SPP) invited two partner organisations to join in forming an environmental NGO network for Prespa – PrespaNet. Together, the SPP, the Protection and Preservation of the Natural Environment in Albania (PPNEA) and the Macedonian Ecological Society (MES) have worked collaboratively to strengthen conservation efforts in the...

Acknowledging that working across borders on complicated conservation challenges requires close transboundary co-ordination, the Society for the Protection of Prespa (SPP) works at several levels to foster such collaboration. One of these is the PrespaNet environmental NGO network consisting of Macedonian Ecological Society (MES) in North Macedonia, Protection and Preservation of Natural Environment in Albania (PPNEA) in Albania and the SPP in Greece. The Prespa Project is a network project...