Author(s)

O. Christopoulou & E. Kesary

Abstract

Environmental protection currently constitutes an issue of vast importance worldwide. Greece has countersigned a large number of international conventions regarding the protection of the environment, while Greek legislation has already conformed to the relevant European Directives. The establishment of Protected Areas comprises an effective instrument for achieving environmental protection. Therefore, this paper evaluates current national and international environmental policies concerning Protected Areas in Greece. A brief historical review of such policies is also included. Environmental management bodies are being briefly described together with relevant current legislation. Moreover, a critique of environmental policies and their application follows. Finally, amelioration measures are proposed in order to achieve improved and more effective management of Protected Areas in Greece. Keywords: Greek environmental policy, national, international legislation, protected areas, management bodies. 1 Introduction Anthropogenic development is increasingly leading to a shrinking of the natural environment and depletion of natural resources. International community decided to take action by introducing the concept of Protected Areas (PAs), managed areas where human activities are controlled in order to preserve their special environmental and/or cultural characteristics. During the last few decades, special legislation has been formed for their management and protection. In Greece, a complete system of PA protection has not yet been achieved. Policy followed in this field could be characterised as fragmented and ineffective, mainly due to the lack of a successful administrative framework and

Keywords

Greek environmental policy, national, international legislation, protected areas, management bodies.