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Lakes Micro and Macro Prespa are shared by Greece, Albania and the FYR of Macedonia. They are two of the oldest water bodies in Europe, located at 850m above sea level and surrounded by a ring of mountains rising over 2000m. The area is characterised by its outstanding natural beauty, great biodiversity, and rich natural resources.

Because of the ancient age of the lakes and of traditional human activities that have shaped landscapes and ecosystems, the region hosts many endemic life forms, as well as species with a very narrow geographic range in the Balkans. In total, there are more than 1500 plant species in Prespa, 23 freshwater fish species, 11 amphibian and 21 reptile species, more than 42 mammal species, among which are the brown bear, the wolf, the otter and the chamois, and over 260 bird species. This great biodiversity has been recognised through protection status under numerous national, European and international laws and conventions. Since 1974 the Greek part of the area has been designated as National Park, Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention, Landscape of Exceptional Natural Beauty, Special Protection Area under EC Directive 79/409/EEC and as Natura site under EC Directive 92/43/EEC.

Prespa is also rich in cultural values, with remains dating back to the Neolithic and the Bronze Age, while the Byzantine and Ottoman empires have left significant monuments. The most outstanding are perhaps the Aghios Achillios Basilica (Micro Prespa- Greece), the Church of St Georgi (Kurbinovo- FYR of Macedonia), the various Byzantine hermitages and of course the stone-built houses, characteristic of the local architecture. Traditional practices, ranging from fishing methods to local festivals, still survive in the area.

Co-operation among Albania, Greece and FYR of Macedonia on the conservation and mild development of Prespa o-operation, quite unique in the Balkans, has been officially established by a Joint Declaration of the three prime ministers on the 2^nd February 2000. A Co-ordination Committee has been established (with government, local authorities and NGO participation) to implement this declaration and a large GEF project for the area is being developed by UNDP and KFW.

The Society for the Protection of Prespa (SPP) is a non-profit association, established in December 1990 by 10 Greek and other European NGOs[1] SPP is based in the village of Aghios Germanos, in a privately owned traditional two-storey building, while a small branch is located at the WWF Greece offices in Athens. The SPP current staff are 18 people, many of them originating from the Prespa area.

For its contribution to nature conservation and sustainable development, the SPP has been awarded the first Ramsar Prize in 1999 and its Director[3] the Goldmann Prize in 2001.

The current and future perspectives of the SPP include larger and more complex programmes with a much broader scope, covering the entire region of the Prespa lakes. The new projects attempt a synthesis of the traditional knowledge on different management practices, extensive ways of living, modern technology, needs of nature conservation, as well as the needs of the local people. In addition, the SPP, through its new programmes, is establishing partnerships and active involvement of various stakeholders in the three neighbouring countries. Thus, beside the continuation of the main monitoring and research activities for the conservation of wildlife species, the SPP also promotes the institutionalisation and enforcement of a new legislative status for the Prespa area and the maturing process of the transboundary Prespa Park.

Since its establishment in 1990, the SPP has been dedicated to ‘the protection of the natural environment and the cultural heritage, in parallel with the mild development of the natural resources for the benefit of the inhabitants of the area’[4]. In its 15 years of operation, the organisation has attempted to implement this mission through integrated programmes (such as the LIFE project on the management of wet meadows) and specific activities for the restoration of historical buildings and guidance for the conservation of traditional local architecture.

In fact, one of the founders of the SPP was a local NGO, the Prespa Centre for Man and Nature, established by biologists Giorgos Catsadorakis and Myrsini Malacou and other inhabitants of Prespa, which continued operating until 1994. In 2004, in the spirit of Ramsar Resolution VIII.19[5], the SPP decided to systematise and to intensify its activities on the integration of culture and nature, and has established the Prespa Centre for Nature and Anthropos (PCNA) for this purpose. In addition, Giorgos Catsadorakis and Myrsini Malacou, recipients of the Goldmann Prize in 2001, have dedicated the monetary part of USD 150,000 for the same purpose.

On this integrated approach, the SPP has the support of Med-INA (the Mediterranean Institute for Nature and Anthropos), a member of the MedWet Culture Working Group.

The strategy of the SPP in this area has been developed along the following four major axes:

It should be noted that this strategy concerns with all Prespa area shared between the three countries i.e. Greece, Albania and the FYROM.

More specifically the Prespa Center for Man and Nature is focusing at the following major objectives:

Developing practical mechanisms to conserve and protect the cultural values by developing guidance and best practice for the integration of cultural heritage and nature conservation in Prespa’s management.

Promoting and disseminating understanding and appreciation of the cultural values of wetlands by making the results of wetland research easily accessible to the general public, to landowners and managers, and to professional interests, thus contributing also to the conservation of the natural heritage of the area.

Encouraging an integrated approach towards the natural and cultural heritage in the work of local authorities, national, international and intergovernmental agencies, including decision-making and legislative actions.

Promoting applied research to underpin good management of Prespa and to inform future policy and launching programmes as an essential pre-condition for the development of effective management practices.

To achieve these objectives, in the framework of an integrated approach, the SPP works along three main lines.

In ongoing projects, the SPP attempts to incorporate aspects that pertain to culture. For example, in the LIFE Nature project on ‘Conservation of priority bird species in Lake Mikri Prespa, Greece’, which focuses on the restoration of wet meadows, management measures included the re-introduction of water buffalos. This allowed the re-establishment of a traditional activity, which had been abandoned in the 1960s, and has restored links with the past.

In all new projects being developed for the Prespa region, including the GEF project, efforts are being made to incorporate the cultural dimension. This is not an easy task, as the integrated approach to nature and culture is still in its early phase. Acceptance requires convincing arguments about the benefits to be obtained, the preparation of adequate methods and tools and testing in the field.

In a more direct approach, specific activities have been initiated by the SPP, or are being planned, to promote the knowledge and practice of nature and culture integration. Some of them have already been funded and are in execution (see section 2 below), while others are still in a design phase and funding for is being sought (section 3).

Due to the generosity of its Honorary President, Dr. Luc Hoffmann, the SPP has purchased a traditional three-storey building on a plot of 9,000 sq.m, in the village of Lemos[6], on the stream of Aghios Germanos, and is restoring it to serve as the headquarters of the Prespa Centre for Nature and Anthropos. The works will be completed by October 2005.

In the meanwhile, the necessary furniture and equipment are being selected, so that the Centre can become fully operational by the end of the year.

Collaboration has started since late 2003 with companies specialising in information technologies for the definition of specifications for the software required for an integrated approach. This has been completed in early 2005, and the development of appropriate software can now commence.

A number of activities have already started for the Greek part of Prespa, funded from various sources.

Uncontrolled land uses and scattered building construction, resulting from contemporary human activities and development pressures, constitutes a major threat for both nature and culture in Prespa. With funding from the MAVA Foundation, a two-year project has started for the preparation of a detailed land use plan of the entire area of the Prespa Municipality, to be officially approved and legislated. This plan will attempt to regulate land uses and construction in harmony with the sustainable development of the area, but taking fully into account the needs to safeguard the cultural heritage of the area and to maintain and enhance its biodiversity.

To understand the dynamics of land use and exploitation in Prespa through a historical perspective, a research project has been launched to study the patterns of land use and human settlements in the area of Greek Prespa during the past two centuries. This will provide a better understanding of the area and perhaps guidance for a harmonious coexistence of Anthropos and nature in the future.

With the assistance of Med-INA[7], certain activities have been carried out to increase awareness about the important natural and cultural values of Prespa and to introduce an integrated approach to their conservation and management. These include the following:

The custom-made development of a platform to manage all of the information on culture and nature in Prespa is an essential tool for systematising all of the work in this area. Such a platform would allow the geographic definition of all elements and their correlation on the basis of space and time. The platform would support a web-based application that would open all of the information and the results of analysis and research to a wider public, from scientists to decision-makers, from students to visitors. The work would also require the selective digitisation of all the information currently available.

The project is planned for a 12-month period and its cost is estimated at 110,000 euros and has not been assured yet.

For the sensitisation of the wider public, and especially of visitors to Prespa and the local inhabitants, a book is being planned on the cultural and natural heritage of Prespa in all three of the countries sharing the two lakes. The book would present an integrated view of human activities in the area and of their impacts on biodiversity, both positive and negative, and would promote the harmonious co-existence between human beings and the natural environment. It would be profusely illustrated and would be published in a number of languages.

The cost of the book has been estimated at 60,000 euros, to be possibly covered through INTERREG[8]. If approved, it will start in late 2005 and be completed by October 2006.

c. Research on the cultural heritage of Prespa and strategy for its protection

A multidisciplinary research project is required to systematise existing information about past human activities in Prespa, identify gaps and attempt to complete it. This would not be only a historical and archaeological study, but would focus on the diachronic impact of human activities on the environment. The results would be extremely useful in planning for a balanced future of the area.

The traditional knowledge on fishing methods and boat construction in Prespa is disappearing; still there are elder inhabitants –both fishermen and craftsmen– who still maintain this knowledge and skills. Thus, the purpose of the project is to encourage them to recreate the corresponding artefacts, and to record (visually and technically) the whole process, in video, text and drawings. The outputs would be a 30’ film and a book publication, to be made widely available. It is hoped that this activity will encourage the use of traditional boats and fishing methods in the framework of ecotourism activities.

This will be an 18-month project and its cost has been estimated at 180,000 euros.

The gastronomy of Prespa has evolved from two factors. On the one hand, the traditions of the people who have come and settled in Prespa through the ages. On the other, the variety of local products, animal or vegetable, collected or cultivated. The purpose of this project is to collect and analyse the information on the origins and development of the Prespa gastronomy and to encourage the maintenance, enhancement and commercial use of traditional recipes and culinary products, which would be for the benefit of both the local inhabitants and the visitors. The outputs would include printed and visual material, organisation of a gastronomy festival and the incorporation of Prespa recipes in local restaurant menus.

Optimally the project should start in September 2005 and could be completed one year later, at a cost of 150,000 euros.

[1] The Danish Ornithological Society, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (UK) and the Station Biologique de la Tour du Valat (France).

[2] The SPP is a full member of this Committee.

[3] Myrsini Malacou, along with biologist Dr. Giorgos Catsadorakis.

[4] From its official bylaws signed on 18 December 2000.

[5] Approved by the Eighth Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Wetlands (Valencia, Spain, November

2002, it concerns ‘taking into account cultural values for the effective management of sites’.

[6] The village of Lemos is the capital of the Greek part of Prespa, where its Municipality is based.

[7] The Mediterranean Institute for Nature and Anthropos, established in 2003 in Athens, Greece.

[8] It has been included in a proposal by the Municipality of Prespa, which has not been fully evaluated yet.