|
In
1999, the National Marine Park of Zakynthos was established as the
first marine national park administration in Greece. The island
of Zakynthos is a nesting beach of the highly endangered loggerhead
turtle (Caretta caretta). One objective of the park is to fulfil
the obligations regarding a judgement issued by the European Court
of Justice against Greece. Therefore, requisite measures regarding
the strict protection of the loggerhead turtle on Zakynthos have
been established and implemented.
Against this background the international conference aims at examining
procedures of non-compliance with nature conservation legislation
of the European Union focusing on the court case of Zakynthos. The
measures taken in response to the legal procedure, the effectiveness
of these measures as well as the existence of any remaining gaps
in the legislation are explored. Taking place during the Greek EU
Presidency, the conference offers a forum to discuss possible actions
to achieve compliance with European legislation and the overall
aim of sustainable marine protection. Furthermore, it provides an
opportunity to share best practises and to exchange experiences
and know-how concerning the sustainable management of marine protected
areas and financial instruments for nature conservation. The results
of this event are directly applicable to the development of the
national park administration and to an appropriate conservation
strategy on Zakynthos.
The
conference brings together an interdisciplinary selection of 40
personally invited representatives of the European Commission, political
and administrative bodies, national park authorities, scientists
and NGOs. The conference languages are English and Greek.
An Ecologic
Brief has been published as an outcome of this conference:
Applying
EU Environmental Legislation - Learning from the European Court
Cases and the Example of the National Marine Park of Zakynthos (pdf,
645 KB, English)
A
summary of the conference results can be downloaded here:
Summary
Zakynthos Conference (pdf, 74 KB- English)
Download
here an address of the Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos A. Papandreou
to the Zakynthos Conference:
Address
Foreign Minister (pdf, 27 KB - English)
|
