Making the invisible visible for the protection of seagrass meadows
Full Press Release in Greek & Press Kit
Exerpt
The 1st Greek Seagrass Forum has come to a close, leaving behind a strong imprint of cooperation, knowledge and shared commitment for the protection of seagrass meadows in Greece and the Mediterranean, in seas and on coasts, with a focus on the Posidonia meadows. For three days, in the center of Athens, people from different sectors met for the first time with a common goal: to join forces for one of the most critical, but often unseen, ecosystems of the sea that is also a priority habitat at the national and Mediterranean level. The participation was impressive, almost moving. Specifically, representatives of 62 organizations participated in the Greek Seagrass Forum, of which 27 were Greek and international organizations, 10 businesses operating in the tourism sector, 11 institutional-public bodies, 7 research and academic institutions, 3 municipalities and 4 schools in Greece and abroad.
Seeking to make the invisible visible for the protection of seagrass meadows in Greece, the Greek Seagrass Forum was organized by the Greek Islands Seagrass Alliance (GISA), with the contribution of the program’s partners, namely the Cyclades Preservation Fund (CPF, coordinator), the Hellenic Center for Marine Research (HCMR), the Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature (HSPN), the Ionian Environment Foundation (IEF), the Argosaronic Environment Foundation (AEF), and the environmental organization Aenaos Thalassa, with funding from the Seacology Foundation. In addition to the scientific contribution of the HCMR, which is a common partner in all projects, the contribution of the Mediterranean Blue Forests projects, coordinated by WWF Greece, which focuses on mooring management issues, as well as the Interreg Euro-MED ARTEMIS, coordinated by Green Tank, which focuses on the restoration of degraded seagrass meadows, was also particularly important. The Forum was held in collaboration with the French Institute of Greece, which hosted the three-day event, which was attended by more than 260 participants.
