Project description
The aim of the project was to promote the protection of Greek landscapes through a combination of research, knowledge transfer, networking and policy advocacy leading to legislative action. Overall, the project contributed to expanding the knowledge base about Greek landscapes and forging a wide alliance in support of their crucial recognition, conservation and management.
At the research level, the project sought to improve understanding of Greek landscapes by applying Landscape Character Assessment methodologies, by exploring threats and drivers of change, and by examining potential strategies for landscape management and sustainable development. In terms of policy advocacy, lobbying the Greek government led to positive results, including the ratification of the European Landscape Convention and the formal decision to establish the Committee on Landscapes within the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change. At the networking level, MedINA spearheaded the establishment of the Greek Landscape Association, with broad participation from experts on landscape issues.
The project’s results included:
- In-depth landscape research based on deskwork and field study of three characteristic Greek pilot sites, in Evros, Lemnos and Argolid.
- Organisation of a national workshop, ‘In search of the Greek landscape’, with the support of the Agricultural University of Athens and WWF Greece in May 2009 that led to the ‘Athens Statement on Greek Landscapes’.
- Publication of In Search of the Greek Landscape in 2010. This book, published in Greek, includes the papers presented during the national workshop and the joint conclusions.
- Organisation of an international workshop, ‘Reclaiming the Greek landscape’, in May 2010, which led to the ‘Nafplion Statement on Greek landscapes’.
- Publication of Reclaiming the Greek Landscape in 2012. This book, published in English, brings together the considerable knowledge and experience gained through the project, including the main papers of the national workshop and the international conference, the results of the three case studies and detailed recommendations for the future of landscape conservation and management in Greece.
