Green Planet: Greek islands under threat

During the summer months tourists from across Europe and all over the world visit the Greek islands to enjoy the sun, sea and sand. But climate change, forest fires and other forms of human interference are jeopardising the biodiversity and natural habitat of these 2,000-plus ‘green dots’ in the Mediterranean Sea.

In this context, EUROPE DIRECT Naxos coordinated a seminar entitled ‘Green Planet – dealing with islands’ on 11-12 April. The seminar took place on the island of Tinos and was co-organised by the Regional Department of School Education for the Southern Aegean and the Municipality of Tinos.

During the two-day seminar, speakers presented a number of environmental studies concerning the islands. On the European dimension, a contribution by Katerina Sokoli from the Representation of the European Commission in Athens revealed ‘Sources of information on European policies and activities’; Freddy Kritikos and Christina Efthimiatou from ED Naxos spoke about ‘Environment and health: the experience of good practice at a European level’. Other presentations focused on specific aspects of nature protection like biodiversity and sustainability, green cultivation and health, the importance of green areas and forests for environmental and health education, and the experiences of such projects in the islands region.
The seminar also included a practical part whereby participants were invited to discover the rich nature of the island by means of field visits on topics such as ‘Vegetation and flora at geological sites’ and ‘Flora as an inspiration for marble carving.
All in all, the seminar provided participants with an insight into how important it is to protect our planet’s especially fragile areas like the Greek islands. Let’s hope that these efforts will be successful so that tourists alongside with the inhabitants of the islands will be able to benefit from the natural beauty of Greece’s beautiful archipelago in years to come.

Christina Efthimiatou
Freddy Kritikos
ED Naxos

Πηγή: Europe Direct NEWSLETTER no.6 June 2008