Greece ranks 11th in the world in environmental performance

This distinction for our country is derived from the internationally recognized “Environmental Performance Index” of universities Yale and Columbia, which uses scientific data and measurements to evaluate 180 countries in 58 areas.

The development was announced by a senior administrator ofMinistry of Environment and Energy, at a launch event for a book by a team of specialist legal authors on protected areas.

Distinguished speakers from the fields of law, administration and legal science at the presentation event, based on the results of the book’s study, presented solutions with legal certainty for the effective protection of biodiversity and, at the same time, the proper planning of sustainable activities.

They also identified weaknesses in the institutional framework, which generate pending issues, delays and conflicts between public and private interests, and explained how these open issues can and should be addressed, according to the modern institutional and legislative framework of protected areas, with references to the relevant case law of national and European courts presented and illuminated in the publication.

The “Environmental Performance Index” – Environmental Performance Index (EPI), an international assessment tool, developed by the Yale Center for Environmental Law&Policy at Yale University, in collaboration with Columbia University, which evaluates with scientific data and measurements for 180 countries in 58 sectors, in environmental policy making and sustainability, ranks Greece 11th in the world. Close – close to Sweden, Finland, Norway, Germany, Germany, Austria, and above France and 168 other countries in the world,” announced Dr. Alexandros Koulidis, an administrator at the Ministry of Environment and Energy, noting that: “We have not always been there. In this index we have moved up by 8.4 points in the score and by about 30 places in the international ranking over the last decade, the highest score is 76 and we are at 67.3.”

He also stressed, “The book confirms exactly this result and the high goals of our efforts, listing in a comprehensive and particularly apt filter the most important provisions for the protection of protected areas.” He noted that “through the content of the book, the feasibility of all these provisions is also highlighted”.

New data

Koulidis also said that at the level of European Union, affecting our country as well, new data are being formed for the siting of RES, energy networks, industry and other activities in Natura areas, where protection restrictions otherwise apply. And that “sober approaches are needed, considering all factors”, for the forthcoming implementation of statutory conservation objectives in protected areas in our country.

“The book brings to the fore, as far as the subject matter is concerned, the quality of law and in general the principles that a favoured state should ensure in its legal system, based on criteria of equality, the rule of law, environmental protection, sustainable development, effective implementation and intergenerational solidarity and justice, “The book has as its reference point the response to the climate crisis and legal certainty, and in the individual chapters it deals with it examines and provides answers to the adequacy and effectiveness of the modern legal framework, both for the protection and development of these sites.”

“We propose guidelines so that in a transitional phase, until the completion and institutionalization of the Special Environmental Assessments for the Natura 2000 network sites, which are still pending, there are no legal uncertainties ‘one of the central ideas introduced in the book is that of “rolling planning” (rollingplanning)’.

“Under “rolling planning”, until the completion of the institutional framework, the Administration could draw up plans and programmes, each time according to mature scientific data and with an explicit review clause, after the final Presidential Decree for each area has been issued”, so that, as Mr Karatsolis explained, “immediate and effective solutions can be provided to protect areas and at the same time develop sustainable activities, always with strict terms and conditions”. He stressed that: “The issue of the “rolling planning” approach is based on the reference that in a rule of law, we must have a trust in the administration and the scientific data it uses for its decisions.”

“The Greek natural environment deserves a stable, coherent and effective system of protection. A system that does not delay, does not leave gaps and does not create uncertainty. Nature protection and development should not be treated as enemies. They are two sides of the same need for a sustainable future”, described the central message of the publication by Ifigenia Tsakalogianni, lawyer, expert in Environmental and Urban Law, author of the book. She noted for the open issues to be addressed in protected areas: “The conservation targets were issued amidst pending Special Environmental Assessments (SEAs). Regulation 2024/1991 requires restoration in areas that are yet to be fully delineated.”

The book entitled: “Protected Areas – Legal Consideration of the Modern Framework – The Rational Allocation and Permissible Limits of Anthropogenic Interventions” (published by “Legal Library”) is a second updated and enriched edition, signed by: Konstantinos Karatsolis, attorney Dr. in Environmental and Urban Planning Law, Iphigenia Tsakalogianni, attorney MDE, MSc Lecturer in Law, Eva Koloventzou Attorney LLM.

The presentation event of the book on protected areas took place in the “Legal Library” in Athens, in a hall full of lawyers, technicians, representatives of the academic community of administration and entrepreneurship.