Greece is establishing two new national marine parks to protect its seas and preserve biodiversity, a move that has already sparked intense frustration and reactions in Turkey. This represents the implementation of the commitment undertaken by Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the UN Ocean Conference, with essentially dual objectives: “Fortifying” our country’s maritime wealth, and continuing the policy of institutional steps and legal actions within the European and international framework, against among other things the claims put forward by Turkey – and most recently Libya – in Greek waters. The thread of this policy for the government begins with the extension to 12 nautical miles of territorial waters in the Ionian Sea, continues with the Exclusive Economic Zone agreement first with Italy and then with Egypt, proceeds with maritime spatial planning, and expands with the designation of marine parks in the Ionian Sea and southern Aegean.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s on-camera announcement regarding the creation of new National Marine Parks and the response to Turkey targeting domestic audiences as well
It is no coincidence, therefore, that Mr. Mitsotakis chose to announce the creation of two new National Marine Parks with an on-camera message – something he rarely does and only in cases he considers particularly important. “These parks will be among the largest marine protected areas in the entire Mediterranean,” the prime minister notes in this message. “They will allow us to achieve the goal of protecting 30% of our territorial waters by 2030, much earlier than anticipated. They will constitute vast refuges of life beneath the waves. They will also contribute to ecosystem preservation, balance restoration, and the establishment of a bold new model for marine protection.”
Turkey’s reaction to the Greek move gave the Maximos Mansion the opportunity to provide an indirect, sharp response to what Antonis Samaras, as well as other politicians and analysts, have attributed to the government recently. “The fact that the Turkish Foreign Ministry responds is the answer to the cheap patriots within our borders,” said Pavlos Marinakis, while the Foreign Ministry also issued an announcement. “The legal regime in the Aegean is crystal clear. Greek sovereignty in this area is clearly and definitively defined by international treaty texts,” this announcement characteristically states, concluding as follows: “The exercise of rights stemming from Greek sovereignty is not subject to negotiation.” Earlier, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry had issued a lengthy announcement, in which among other things it argues that “the marine parks to be declared in the Aegean will have no legal effect within the framework of the interconnected Aegean problems between the two countries.”
Skertsos: More than one-third of Greek territorial waters placed under environmental protection regime
Further explaining the significance of this legislation from the Greek side, Minister of State Akis Skertsos clarified that with this decision, more than one-third of Greek territorial waters (36%) is placed under an environmental protection regime, ranking Greece fourth at the European level in terms of protection scope, and already exceeding by 2025 the target set by the UN, namely for each country to have placed 30% of its seas under special regime by 2030.
Specifically, the South Aegean National Marine Park 1 – Southern Cyclades has a total area of almost 9,500 (9,477) km2, of which 9,189 km2 concerns Greek marine zones and 288 km2 concerns terrestrial areas. It includes 73 island complexes, 68 of which belong to the European Natura 2000 network (Annex 1) and the remaining 5 to the Birdlife International IBA (Important Bird Areas) network, with a total area of 1.7 km2, which are also expected to soon be integrated into the Natura 2000 Network as SPAs through the ongoing monitoring program.
The Ionian Park interconnects many existing protected areas (Annex 2) and has a total area of approximately 18,000 (17,970) km2, of which 17,690 km2 concerns Greek marine zones and 280 km2 concerns terrestrial areas.
