Legal Establishment of the new Marine Protected Area

The Hellenic Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change (HMEECC), an Associated Beneficiary of the “CYCLADES LIFE” project, will be responsible for the legal establishment of the new Marine Protected Area, as it is the national competent authority for the designation of MPAs and the conservation of the natural environment in Greece.

At the beginning of the project, the HMEECC will form a team of officials from within the Ministry that will be responsible for monitoring the progress of the preparation and review of the Special Environmental Study and for facilitating the process of the designation of the site as a Marine Protected Area. The team of officials will integrate various comments received during the foreseen consultative process and formulate the final draft of the legislative blueprint. This will then be submitted to the Minister for the Environment, Energy and Climate Change for final approval and then to the Presidency of the Hellenic Democracy for the formal issuing of the Presidential Decree, which will officially establish the new MPA.

The Decentralized Administration Authority of Aegean (DAAA), which is also an Associate Beneficiary of the “CYCLADES LIFE”, will be responsible, as it is the regional competent authority, for the designation of the Gyaros Natura 2000 site as a Wildlife Refuge, according to the Greek Environmental legislation.

At the beginning of the project the DAAA will designate officials from within the Administration that will be responsible for monitoring the progress of the preparation of the Ecological Study (ES) and for facilitating the process of the designation of the site as a Wildlife Refuge (WR). The DAAA officials will then formulate the final draft of the ES that will then be submitted to the General Secretary of the DAAA in order to be approved and, signed, thus officially designating the area as a WR.

This will be the first Marine Protected Area that will be designated as Wildlife Refuge in Greece and aims to be an example for the protection and conservation of other marine areas of Greece. Its legal establishment and the immediate and effective implementation of protection measures is the most crucial action of the “CYCLADES LIFE” project, as it will facilitate the implementation of the necessary management measures.