In the transboundary Prespa, 15 young students and recent graduates’ enthusiasts of environmental sciences from the 3 neighboring countries, had the opportunity to learn about and explore the topic “Monitoring and management for conservation in Prespa” from 19 lecturers, between theoretical sessions and field activities.
Very warm hospitality from the local community in the main square of the Pustec Municipality, with a film screening, was the opening event to start this program, as an introduction to the cultural and biodiversity values of the Prespa National Park.
Through bird ringing, birdwatching, and bird identification, as well as learning more about the importance of protecting these species, the participants were introduced to the methodology of bird monitoring and the importance of conservation and management actions, by the partners of #PrespaNet.
An important part of the program was learning about priority wetland habitats and the importance of transboundary cooperation for their management.
The visit to Maligrad Island of Lake Prespa, for dice snakes monitoring sessions, as well as other reptile species, left everyone impressed, moving on to demonstrations of the actions undertaken for the management of wetlands in the Nature Park Ezerani, North Macedonia.
The entire 1-week event, held from September 11th to 16th, offered a diversity of engaging activities for participants, creating an energetic and collaborative atmosphere.
We thank our partners of #PrespaNet, Macedonian Ecological Society (MES), Society for the Protection of Prespa (SPP) but also Pustec Municipality, Korça Regional Administration of Protected Areas, and HBS Tirana partners for cooperating and facilitating the activity’s implementation during the summer school.
