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European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency
News article14 December 2021European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency

Watch ‘Wings, Wetlands and People’: man & nature coexisting on Lesser Prespa Lake

LIFE15 NAT/GR/000936

Escape the doom and gloom of winter by watching a beautifully shot documentary from the team behind the LIFE Prespa Waterbirds project.

Directed by Spanish film director Francisco Márquez, the thirty-minute ‘Wings, Wetlands and People’ short film follows LIFE’s work on the wetland of Lesser Prespa in Greece. Prespa is home to many rare birds like the Dalmatian pelican, 1 500 plant types, nine endemic fish species, and 48 different habitats.

The wetland suffers from the uncontrolled expansion of reedbeds along the lakeshore, the absence of wet meadows, and the impact of locals' activities.

In the documentary, we hear about the project’s efforts to protect the area’s biodiversity and the essential benefits it creates for the local community and economy.

We witness how local organisations, scientists, fishers, livestock breeders and farmers have come together to ensure a sustainable future for Prespa’s environment and for those who depend on it for their livelihoods. They tell us the story of the wetland, about the delicate balance of the reedbeds and how they view their efforts as an example of man and nature living in harmony.

The documentary also presents the unique landscapes of Prespa with captivating images of birds on the lake, of herds grazing and wooden fishing boats lying amongst the reeds.

More about LIFE Prespa Waterbirds

The goal of LIFE Prespa Waterbirds, which finished in September 2021, was to conserve and protect the biodiversity of Lesser Prespa. There was a particular focus on nine rare waterbirds. The project aimed to benefit the local community, while the critical issue of climate change was investigated for the first time by examining the impact it is expected to have on the ecosystem and finding ways to adapt.

The project supports the EU’s Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and the EU’s Birds and Habitats Directives.

Watch ‘Wings, Wetlands and People’

Image: LIFE15 NAT/GR/000936/Fco. Márquez. All rights reserved. Licensed to the European Union under conditions.

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