Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity

Greece is home to 85 habitat types of European importance and hosts a large number of species of European importance [ ] 113 Developing the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan The country has made great strides in recent years, towards achieving the goals of the Convention on Biological Diversity, by implementing various national conservation and environ- ment protection policies, while also participating in a number of pan-Eu- ropean initiatives. The National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan was introduced in 2014, setting out the vision for the protection of biodiversity and of its ecosystem services, based on three general objectives: halting biodiver- sity loss, promoting biodiversity as a national natural capital, intensifying the contribution of Greece to pre- venting the loss of global biodiversity. Target 3 of the National Biodi- versity Strategy aims to strengthen Greece’s national system of protected areas, which is largely linked to the EU’s Natura 2000 network of pro- tected areas. Greece is home to the 35 per cent of Europe’s biodiversity, and within its national borders 446 Nat- ura 2000 sites have been designated. These correspond to 27.59 per cent of the country’s land territory (terres- trial sites) as well as to 19.60 per cent of territorial waters (marine sites), following an expansion of the Marine Protected Area network in 2017. These new figures safely overshoot the target of Sustainable Develop- ment Goal 14.5. The Ministry of Environment and Energy, has already launched the elaboration of Special Environ- mental Studies, presidential decrees and management plans that, once completed, will be legally approved and enforced for the whole Natura 2000 network to ensure adequate protection, regulate and define the conservation terms and implement a judicial management of all Natura 2000 sites in Greece, by 2022. The Ministry of Environment and Energy has been recently awarded a European Commission LIFE Inte- grated Project that will run for the period 2018–2025. The project’s main objectives are the implementation of 10 Action Plans for habitats and species of Community interest listed in the Birds and Habitats EU Direc- tives, the pilot implementation of Management Plans in Natura 2000 sites and the fine-scale mapping and assessment of ecosystems and their services at national level. The success- ful implementation of the project will result in a substantial improvement of habitats’ and species’ favourable conservation status in the country. The rocks of Meteora above the plain of Thessaly Greece G reece is notable for its high species diversity, an extensive coverage of natural and semi natural habitats, a lengthy coastline and a broad and well-documented diversity of landscapes with high aesthetic and cultural values. Natural ecosystems and habitats make up over 50 per cent of national territory. Forests and wooded areas cover 33 per cent of territory, while grasslands cover 13 per cent and scrublands 21 per cent. Water and wetlands surface take up 2 per cent, and bare land 3 per cent of the land. Due to the range of climatic and geomorphological conditions, the isolation of the mountains and islands, and an almost pristine natural environment there are a large number of endemic species. It is home to 1,278 endemic plant species (22.2 per cent of all species present), as well as a total of 3,956 endemic animal species, out of overall 23,130 animal species present. Vangelis Batsikostas on Unsplash