The Kick-off meeting of the project LASPEH - “Low Adriatic Species and Habitat”, co-funded for approximately 500.000 EUR by the Interreg IPA CBC Italy-Albania-Montenegro Programme, was held on 27 and 28 September in Ostuni (Former Municipal slaughterhouse), Puglia. A press conference was organized on the first day of the meeting.

LASPEH project, financed under Priority Axis 3 (Environment protection, risk management and low carbon strategy) of the Programme, aims to promote and support the biodiversity safeguard reducing the contraction of biological diversities. In other words, LASPEH faces the loss of biodiversity by defining a common strategy to preserve the natural heritage and the landscape in the Low Adriatic basin. 

LASPEH will implement several activities such as a transnational joint strategy for the better management of priority species in Natura 2000 sites, conservation plans on three priority species and their pilot areas to be adopted at local (regional) level, conservation pilot actions to improve the level of protection of target species/habitats and boost long lasting environmental conservation, and finally awareness campaign on stakeholders (targeted workshops addressed to schools and families on environment preservation, visits to natural sites for children, schools and families to boost sustainable tourism).

Management Consortium of Regional Natural Park “Coastal Dunes from Torre Canne to Torre San Leonardo” is the lead beneficiary of this project in cooperation with one Albanian partner (National Agency of Protected Areas), one Montenegrin partner (Public Enterprise of National Parks of Montenegro) and three Italian partners (Management Body of the Regional Natural Reserves of the Eastern Coast of Taranto, Municipality of Ugento and Municipality of Guardiaregia).