Comment by Ioli Christopoulou in an article by Machie Tratsa in the Vima Sunday Edition on the progress of the proper designation of the country’s protected areas.
In her article in the Vima Sunday Edition, Machie Tratsa presents the progress of the project being implemented by the Ministry of Environment and Energy for the proper designation of the country’s Natura 2000 site as protected areas.
The article notes the significant delays that mark the process, as the 23 special environmental studies (SEPs) that will cover the 446 areas of the country’s Natura 2000 network were initially commissioned in March 2019 with a completion deadline of two and a half years, but to date only five of them have been approved. None of these studies has so far led to the issuance of the necessary presidential decree that institutionalizes the protection measures that will apply to each area.
Explanations for these delays are given in the article by the coordinator of the project, from ENVECO, George Kotzageorgis, and the Secretary General of the Natural Environment and Energy, Ministry of National Economy, Petros Varelidis.
As vice-president of the Nature 2000 Committee, Ioli Christopoulou, co-founder and policy director of the Green Tank who participates in the Committee as a representative of non-governmental organizations, stated: “the fact remains that as long as the Presidential Decrees, which legally designate the protected areas, are absent, the institutional framework remains unclear; as a result neither nature protection is achieved, nor are the foundations laid for the development of activities compatible with the specific characteristics of each area.”
Finally, she pointed out the need to proceed immediately with the preparation, consultation and issuance of presidential decrees “in order to close an important chapter and lay the foundations for effective management of Greek nature.”
The article by Machie Tratsa entitled “Natura only in words” was published in Vima tis Kyriakis on 2 March, 2025. You can read it in the electronic edition of Vima here.