PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Prespa National Park is important for biodiversity: it includes two Natura 2000 network sites, 49 different habitat types, 70 vegetation types, and more than 2 000 plant species. Its lakes host 23 fish species, including eight endemics, and the park contains 11 amphibian, 21 reptile and 60 mammal species. Avifauna includes 272 bird species, of which 164 breed and 88 are listed in Annex I of the Birds Directive. The park hosts the largest breeding colonies in the world of the Dalmatian pelican (1 100 pairs) and the great white pelican, as well as over 1 000 pairs of the pygmy cormorant.
Conversion of its wetland habitats into agricultural land and surface irrigation have taken their toll and degraded the lake's ecosystem, leading to shrinkage of wetland areas. But recent conservation efforts have shown that conservation management (water level and vegetation management) can benefit the waterbird populations.
Protecting wetland systems such as Lesser Prespa is vital for supporting national, European and global biodiversity and for ensuring sustainable resources management. Long-term waterbird conservation and protection should incorporate assessment of future climate change impacts in order to be sustainable.
OBJECTIVES
The overall project aim of the LIFE Prespa Waterbirds is to improve the conservation status of target bird species in the area by addressing the following major threats:
Limited foraging areas for wading birds; Obstruction by reed-beds of the potential foraging sites and spawning of fish; and The potentially devastating impact of avian flu on pelican meta-populations. The project's conservation actions will also help the ecosystem adapt to climate change, while providing benefits to the local community.
Specific objectives are to:
Increase suitable feeding habitats of the target species; Increase food availability by improving spawning grounds and access for fish species; Minimise the target species’ mortality risk and breeding failure due to reed-bed fires; Increase knowledge and capacity-building along the flyway on how to respond to disease outbreaks in pelicans; Benefit the local community by providing reed biomass for agricultural fields; Increase ecosystem resilience by habitat management interventions; Enhance transboundary collaboration on wetland management; Ensure transferability and replicability of project methods and techniques; and Increase environmental awareness of the local community. The project will contribute to the implementation of EU nature and biodiversity policy and legislation (more specifically the Birds and Habitats directives and Target 1 of the EU Biodiversity Strategy), by applying Natura 2000 network site management and wetland restoration actions, as well as public awareness and training. In addition, the project will contribute to achieve "good status” of Prespa Lake under the Water Framework Directive and will contribute to the EU Climate Change Adaptation Strategy.
Expected results:
Management of up to 50 ha of wetland habitats/year; Dalmatian pelican: increase in breeding success, c. 250 more fledglings/year; Great white pelican: 10% increase in breeding success; Pygmy cormorant: reduce inter-annual variation of breeding population by 10%; Ferruginous duck: increase breeding population by 50%; Great white egret: increase in breeding success by 10%; Little egret: average number of breeding pairs will not fall below 27; inter-annual variation will decrease to 12 pairs; Night heron: average number of breeding pairs will not fall below 107; inter-annual variation will decrease below 25 pairs; Squacco heron: average number of breeding pairs will not fall below 27; inter-annual variation will decrease to less than 12 pairs; Glossy ibis: vegetation management will allow nesting every year regardless of amount of flooding; Priority habitat type, Mediterranean tall humid grasslands: will increase in area by at least 20%; Vegetation management of up to 3 km of drainage ditches per year; No waterbird nests destroyed by wildfires; Restoration of two upper stream mouths; Two feeding sites of high quality and importance provided for all target species; Up to 3 000 tonnes of reed biomass used for soil conditioning; Production and dissemination of a national contingency plan for responding to outbreaks of disease among pelicans and other waterbirds; Establishment and operation of a transboundary committee for wetland management and monitoring; Development of a climate change “vulnerability assessment” protocol; Training of up to 40 site managers and 20 students on wetland management and monitoring; and The local population, including stakeholders and schoolchildren will be made aware of the project messages, objectives and achievements.
