Eleven Greek environmental groups on Tuesday announced their decision to pool their resources and create an “Alliance for Wildlife” that will seek to preserve and protect biodiversity in Greece. The initiative will strive for the effective protection of both high-profile and less well known important species.
The initiative is coordinated and supported by WWF Greece and is comprised of the following groups: Anima (wildlife protection and treatment association), Archelon (sea turtle protection association), Callisto (environmental group), the Hellenic Ornithological Society, the Biodiversity Protection Society of Thrace, the Prespa Protection Society, the Hellenic Institute of Speliological Research, iSea (maritime ecosystems protection group), Medasset (Meditarranean Association to Save the Sea Turtle), Tethys Research Institute and WWF Hellas.
The programmes will focus on specific flagship species belonging to Greece’s fauna but the actions for their protection will also benefit a greater number of species and areas, providing more general protection of the natural environment.
As one of the countries with the greatest biodiversity, Greece is home to 18% of European animal species, with 27,000 recorded species of which 4,000 are endemic and only found in Greece. Despite the country’s pledge to prevent the loss of domestic biodiversity, it falls far short of the targets for the majority of even protected species, the Alliance noted.
The group’s actions will focus on five areas: improving the management of protected areas in the land and sea with important measures to protect nature; improving the management and restoration of wildlife, facilitating the participation of interested parties in the planning and implementation of actions; reducing the threats to wildlife and their repercussions and boosting the incorporation of species protection in the economic and business sector; increasing knowledge in order to assess threats and develop effective protection measures; promoting the harmonious coexistence of human and wild life, through collaborative actions with communities, administrative authorities and companies to find sustainable solutions to eliminate undesirable interactions between human and wild life.
