New GEF Prespa Park Project approved

A new large scale project aiming to assist in better managing the transboundary Ramsar site of Prespa in the South East Balcans has been approved. Titled “Integrated Ecosystem Management in the Prespa Lakes Basin”, the project will be completed within four years and financed mainly through the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), KfW Entwicklungsbank (KfW development bank), and the states of Albania, FYRoM and Greece sharing the two lakes.

Comprising a wide range of actions, the project builds o­n the findings of a o­ne year preparatory phase, implemented by UNDP and KfW. Concluded in 2005 by UNDP, this project proposal development phase (PDF B) aimed at gathering baseline information including through technical reviews and consultations with various stakeholders.

With an estimated budget of $13.5 million, the project will aim to deliver the following general outcomes:
Outcome 1: Stakeholders strengthen legal and regulatory framework and establish land and water use management basis for maintaining and restoring ecosystem health in the Prespa Lakes Basin.
Outcome 2: Stakeholders modify productive sector resource management practices to reduce pesticide inputs, increase habitat heterogeneity, and improve the status of target species and communities within the national sectors of the Prespa Basin.
Outcome 3: Stakeholders conserve priority biological diversity across the Prespa Basin and make key protected areas in Prespa Basin (Prespa NP-Albanian, Galichica NP, and Ezerani Nature Reserve, and Prespa National Forest-Greece fully operational.
Outcome 4: Stakeholders build upon o­ngoing transboundary cooperation in the Prespa by strengthening the coordination mechanism and piloting transboundary conservation and water management.
Outcome 5: Lessons learnt and adaptive management of project.

A kick-off meeting to elaborate a detailed plan of objectives and actions for the project is scheduled to take place in May.

For more information o­n the Ramsar site of Prespa you can visit the website of the Transboundary Park of Prespa (in English)

Updated on 3/7/2006 11:38:15 AM.