Wetland Management Committee / Related projects

A participatory approach to water governance has always been a central axis of the work of the Society for the Protection of Prespa (SPP), which proposed the creation of a mechanism that would strengthen the involvement of all stakeholders, especially local bodies, in the decision-making process for the management of the water level of Lesser Prespa Lake. Consequently, a participatory advisory body, consisting of 10 local, regional and national stakeholders,...

Wet meadows, the most sensitive and important ecosystems of the region, are formed on the shores of Lesser Prespa Lake. These are lakeside areas, with low vegetation, periodically flooded with water, depending on the fluctuation of the lake water level, where many waterbird species feed and nest and many species of fish and amphibians breed. The extent of the wet meadows directly depends on the seasonal variation of the water...

In the 1970s the biggest part of the catchment basin was legally protected as a National Forest, while Lesser Prespa Lake was a designated Ramsar site. The operation of the park was the responsibility of the forestry service, but there was no operational management plan and in general reconciling nature conservation and rural development was problematic, often leading to conflicts and animosity.Later, in 2009, the protection status of Greek Prespa...

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,...

The Prespa basin is located at the borders between Greece, Albania and Macedonia. It is surrounded by mountains and contains two lakes. The Prespa lakes contain around 23 species of fish, including nine that are endemic. Native carp are important to the fishery sector. However, the introduction of non-native species poses a threat to the structure of endemic fish populations. Long-term monitoring has shown, for example, that Prussian carp (Carassius...

The gradual reduction of traditional animal husbandry over time, combined with various practical problems, has gradually limited the extent of the managed surfaces around Lesser Prespa Lake. Due to reduced water inflows, mainly because of climate change, the lake’s water level no longer rises sufficiently enough to create wet meadows, and this is leading to further shrinkage of waterbird feeding grounds. In 2016, the Society for the Protection of Prespa...