DEVELOPMENT OF A TRANSBOUNDARY MONITORING SYSTEM FOR THE PRESPA PARK AREA Expert Study Aghios Germanos, Prespa, November 2009 SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF PRESPA – TOUR DU VALAT Development of a Transboundary Monitoring System for the Prespa Park This study was funded by WWF-Greece/ MAVA Foundation Suggested bibliographical reference: Perennou, C., Gletsos, M., Chauvelon, P., Crivelli, A., DeCoursey, M., Dokulil, M., Grillas, P., Grovel, R. and Sandoz, A. (2009). Development of a Transboundary Monitoring System for the Prespa Park Area, Aghios Germanos, Greece, November 2009, 381pp. Final editing: Miltos Gletsos (SPP), Yannis Kazoglou (SPP), Christian Perennou (TdV) Cover photo: SPP Archive/ M. Gletsos Page I SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF PRESPA – TOUR DU VALAT Development of a Transboundary Monitoring System for the Prespa Park Study Team Project Leader: Dr. Christian Perennou, Tour du Valat Project Coordinator: Miltos Gletsos, Society for the Protection of Prespa International Lead Experts: Dr. Philippe Chauvelon (Water resources) Dr. Alain Crivelli (Fish and fisheries) Maureen DeCoursey (Socio-economic issues) Prof. Martin Dokulil (Water resources) Dr. Patrick Grillas (Aquatic vegetation and habitats) Rémi Grovel (Forests and terrestrial habitats) Dr. Christian Perennou (Birds and other biodiversity) Dr. Alain Sandoz (Land-use) National Consultants: Albania: Dr. Spase Shumka Greece: Society for the Protection of Prespa (Dr. Giorgos Catsadorakis, Miltos Gletsos, Dr. Yannis Kazoglou, Irene Koutseri) Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia: Dr. Svetozar Petkovski Page II SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF PRESPA – TOUR DU VALAT Development of a Transboundary Monitoring System for the Prespa Park Acknowledgments SPP Scientific Advisors: Expert scientific advice was kindly provided to the SPP by EKBY, Thessaloniki (Dr. Eleni Fitoka on Land-use, Dr. Petros Kakouros on Forests and Terrestrial Habitats, and Dr. Vassiliki Tsiaoussi on Water Resources), by WWF-Greece (Dr. Panagiota Maragou on Biodiversity and on Water Resources), by Dr. George Parisopoulos (NAGREF, Athens) on the Water Resources theme, and by Dr. Michalis Vrahnakis (TEI Larissa) on the Forests and Terrestrial Habitats theme. TdV acknowledgements: TdV would like to thank Anthony Olivier, Virginie Mauclert and Nicole Yavercovski (TdV), Dr. Yorgos Mertzanis (NGO Callisto, Greece), and Dr. Vassiliki Tsiaoussi (EKBY, Greece), for providing valuable information for the expert study. National Thematic Experts: The present work would not have been the same without the invaluable contribution of the national thematic experts from the three countries, who actively participated in the transboundary thematic workshops between February and May 2009, and provided scientific and technical input to the 7 monitoring themes in this study. The full list of the participants, and the conclusions of the workshops, are found in Annexes 5.2-5.4. Transboundary Thematic Workshops: Last but not least, the transboundary thematic workshops were organized and fully supported by the GEF/UNDP Prespa Park project, and we particularly thank the UNDP teams for their contribution and support. Page III SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF PRESPA – TOUR DU VALAT Development of a Transboundary Monitoring System for the Prespa Park Abbreviations ASPBM: Albanian Society for the Protection of Birds and Mammals, Albania CBD: Convention on Biological Diversity CITES: Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora CLC: CORINE Land-cover CMS: Convention on Migratory Species (also called Bonn Convention) CORINE: COordinated INformation on the Environment CPUE: Catch Per Unit Effort CR: Critically Endangered (IUCN Red List category) CWS: Central Water Service from the Ministry of Environment, Greece DEM: Digital Elevation Model EEA: European Environment Agency EKBY: Greek Wetlands and Biotope centre, Greece EN: Endangered (IUCN Red List category) ESNR: Ezerani Strict Nature Reserve, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia EU: European Union EUNIS: European Nature Information System FTH: Forests and Terrestrial Habitats FYROM: the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia GEF: Global Environment Facility GIS: Geographical Information System GNP: Galicica National Park, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia GPS: Global Positioning System GTZ: Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit, Germany HCMR: Hellenic Center for Marine Research, Greece HIO: Hydrobiological Institute of Ohrid, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia HIP: Institute for Health Protection, Bitola, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia HMA: Hydro-Meteorological Administration, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia IEWE: Institute of Energy, Water & Environment, Polytechnic University of Tirana, Albania IUCN: International Union for the Conservation of Nature LEAC: Land and Ecosystem Accounting LR/ NT: Lower Risk/ Near-threatened (IUCN Red List category) ΜΑΡ: Macedonian Alliance for Prespa, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia MBPNF: Management Body of the Prespa National Forest (now PNP-GR), Greece MCWG: Monitoring and Conservation Working Group MDGs: Millennium Development Goals MES: Macedonian Ecological Society, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia MNS: Museum of Natural Sciences, Tirana, Albania MoAFW: Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Water, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia MoEFWA: Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Water Administration (Albania) MoEPP: Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia NDVI: Normalized Difference Vegetation Index NPP: Pelister National Park, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia PNF: (former) Prespa National Forest, Greece PNP-AL: Prespa National Park, Albania PNP-GR: Prespa National Park, Greece PPC: Public Power Corporation, Greece Page IV SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF PRESPA – TOUR DU VALAT Development of a Transboundary Monitoring System for the Prespa Park ΡΡΝΕΑ: Protection and Preservation of Natural Environment in Albania QE: Quality Element (in the context of the Water Framework Directive) REC: Regional Environmental Centre SAC: Special Areas of Conservation - designated under the Habitats Directive SAP: Strategic Action Plan (for the Sustainable Development of the Prespa Park) SPP: Society for the Protection of Prespa, Greece TB: Transboundary TdV: Tour du Valat, France TEI: Technological Education Institute (of Larissa), Greece TMS: Transboundary Monitoring System UNDP: United Nations Programme for the Environment VU: Vulnerable (IUCN Red List category) WFD: Water Framework directive WWF: Worldwide Fund for Nature Page V SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF PRESPA – TOUR DU VALAT Development of a Transboundary Monitoring System for the Prespa Park Table of Contents 0. Preface 1 1. Introduction 5 2. Aim and Objectives of the Study 7 3. Short Description of the Study area 9 4. Framing the Monitoring System/Principles, Assumptions, Guidelines 18 5. System Elements and Design 26 6. Water Resources Monitoring 30 7. Biodiversity: Habitats and Species 82 8. Aquatic Vegetation and Habitats 86 9. Forests and Terrestrial Habitats 134 10. Fish and Fisheries 181 11. Birds and Other Biodiversity (Species and Habitats) 233 12. Socio-Economic and Cultural Values 290 13. Land-use 320 14. Evaluation of the Prespa Monitoring System 351 15. Integration of the Monitoring Components-Overview 356 16. Design of the Pilot Application System 367 References 375 Page VI SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF PRESPA – TOUR DU VALAT Development of a Transboundary Monitoring System for the Prespa Park List of Annexes Note: Numbering of the Annexes corresponds to the Chapters of the present study (e.g. Annexes 6.1 -6.5 refer to Chapter 6); therefore, some apparent gaps in numbering simply reflect that some Chapters have no Annexes. Annex 4.1: Preparatory Stage (phase A) Report: 1. Aim of the monitoring system Annex 4.2: Preparatory Stage (phase A) Report: 2. Geographical scale at which the monitoring system should operate Annex 4.3: Preparatory Stage (phase A) Report: 3. Significant elements/ values/ issues of concern to a transboundary monitoring system in the Prespa Park, relevant criteria and scope Annex 4.4: Preparatory Stage (phase B) Report Annex 4.5: Preparatory Stage (phase C) Report: Guidelines Annex 5.1: ToRs of international lead experts Annex 5.2: Composition of thematic working groups Annex 5.3: ToRs of thematic working groups Annex 5.4: Conclusions and summary minutes of the Transboundary Thematic Workshops Annex 6.1: A summary of requirements from the Water Framework Directive, and where to find relevant information on state of the art methodologies Annex 6.2: Standard references and normatives for water monitoring Annex 6.3: List of main pesticides currently used on apples in the northern watershed of Macro Prespa Annex 6.4: Indicative list of agrochemicals used in bean cultivation around Prespa Annex 6.5: Sluice gates at Koula, Greece (plan and cross view sections; discharge calculations) Annex 8.1: Protocols for the location and surface area of patches for aquatic vegetation monitoring Annex 8.2.: Protocol for the monitoring of the species composition of wet meadows and reed beds (Braun Blanquet method) Annex 8.3.: Protocol for monitoring the hydrophyte beds Annex 8.4: Homemade Acrylic Secchi Disks Annex 8.5: How to Make a Viewscope Page VII SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF PRESPA – TOUR DU VALAT Development of a Transboundary Monitoring System for the Prespa Park Annex 9.1: Proposed land-use and habitats typology from CORINE