LIFE "ATIAS" LIFE18 NAT/GR/000430

Beneficiaries

1. Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Coordinator)

2. Democritus University of Thrace

3. Decentralized Administration of Epirus-West Macedonia

4. Decentralized Administration of Macedonia & Thrace

5. Hellenic Fur Federation

6. Hunting Federation of Macedonia and Thrace

7. Homeotech

Lab. of Wildlife & Freshwater Fish (School of Forestry & Nat. Environment)

Lab. of Remote Sensing & Forest Management (School of Forestry & Nat. Environment)

Lab. of Peace Journalism (Dep. of Journalism & MMC)

Establishment of an early warning and rapid eradication system for IAS
Pilot implementation of a technical and administrative framework for the eradication – control of established IAS through the application of best practices
Establishment of communication channels between national relevant stakeholders in order to address IAS efficiently
Setting up networking mechanisms among stakeholders for monitoring the effectiveness of eradication and control, its impact on protected wildlife species and its socio-economic impact on local communities
Promotion of transnational cooperation for experience and knowledge exchange
Biodiversity protection, restoration of ecosystem services and amelioration of the conservation status of vulnerable species in NATURA 2000 sites of Northern Greece
Reduction of economic damages to farming animals and crops due to the gradual control of IAS feral populations and conflict resolution between social groups through participatory activities
Raising public awareness on IAS and their impacts on biodiversity

Development of an integrated information system (data for IAS in Greece)
Establishment of an early warning and rapid eradication system for IAS in Northern Greece
Improvement of the knowledge on the American mink population size, distribution, ecological requirements and behavior as an IAS
Eradication of the feral American mink population in 2 SPAs of the Natura 2000 network (GR1320003 Lake Kastoria & GR1340001 Prespes National Park) through trapping and removal from the wild
Control of the feral American mink population in 7 regions (Kastoria, Florina, Grevena, Kozani, Imathia, Pella and Thessaloniki) to prevent its spread to neighboring Natura 2000 sites
Restore populations of priority species in 2 SPAs (Pelikans, Cormorants, Swans, Otter etc)
Development of more efficient strategic mechanisms to evolve community-based American mink management
Improvement of the response mechanisms of fur farms by setting up early detection systems in case of escapes or deliberate releases
Raising awareness among stakeholders, authorities, affected groups and the general public on the IAS impacts and increased identification skills of IAS