Greece announces boundaries of two largest Mediterranean marine parks

On July 21, the Greek government announced the boundaries of two planned marine parks in the Ionian and Aegean seas, with the aim of preserving marine ecosystems and fulfilling a global commitment to expand the area of ​​marine protected areas by 30% by 2030.

A man rows a boat in the Ionian Sea near the settlement of Sidari on the Greek island of Corfu. (Photo: Reuters)

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stressed that these will be the largest marine parks in the Mediterranean region, contributing to the protection of mammals, sea turtles, seabirds and seals.

According to the plan, a 9,500 square kilometer Aegean marine park will be planned around the Cyclades islands, bringing the total area of ​​the two parks to 27,500 square kilometers.

The Greek government is also looking to expand the protected areas in the future. Deep-sea trawling will be banned in these areas.

However, the plan has been met with resistance from Turkey, whose Foreign Ministry accused Greece of “exploiting universal values ​​such as the environment” and asserted that the parks “have no legal impact” on existing disputes in the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas.

Ankara called for avoiding unilateral actions and said it would announce its own projects on protecting marine life in the coming days, while expressing readiness to cooperate with Athens to resolve the dispute.

The public consultation on the newly announced boundaries will run until September 22. After that, the Greek Environment Ministry plans to present two presidential decrees to the Council of State at the end of October to officially establish the marine parks./.

According to VNA

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/hy-lap-cong-bo-ranh-gioi-cua-hai-cong-vien-bien-lon-nhat-dia-trung-hai-255663.htm