Ioli Christopoulou talked about the priorities that the Natural Environment and Climate Change Agency (NECCA) should set for the sustainable development of the 446 Natura 2000 sites in Greece at the 4th OT Forum on “A new productive model – “Greece 2030″.
These priorities had been given since the launch of NECCA in 2020 and concern central state support for the horizontal operation of protected areas, adequate funding and participatory governance. Ioli Christopoulou pointed out that while in the first two areas NECCA has been successful, the third remains a gamble in order to engage local communities more in the conservation project.
In addition, she pointed out the important pending issue that remains, as the presidential decrees with the rules for the protection of Natura 2000 sites have not yet been issued, which will help sustainable development activity.
At the same time, she spoke about the “Nature Greece” initiative to create an identity for protected areas, so that through their association with local products and services, tourism, educational services and local sustainable development in general can be stimulated.
On this point, the President of NECCA, Dr. Maria Papadopoulou, said that an allocation of €100 million has been approved from the Recovery Fund for protected areas. A small part of it (€1 million) will be used for the creation of the “Nature Greece” branding and certification, while the greater part of it will be used for the creation, maintenance and promotion of walking trails, as well as for equipment that will enhance the guarding and protection of these areas.
The panel at the OT Forum also included Dr. Fay Makantasi, research director at diaNEOsis, who spoke about two diaNEOsis surveys on development opportunities and sustainable tourism in Natura 2000 sites.
The panel on “Environment and biodiversity central pillars in sustainable development – The work of NECCA” was moderated by journalists Nikos Filippidis and Athanasia Akrivou and took place on 3 December 2024, during the 4th OT Forum. You can watch it and read more here (in Greek).
