Letter to the Minister for the protection of the Hellenic Trench

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Will Greece and its Prime Minister commit to the protection of the Greek Trench during the 9th Our Oceans Conference, which will be held in Athens, Greece?

8 Environmental Organisations once again highlight the importance of the Hellenic Trench, asking for the Prime Minister’s pledge to create a Marine Protected Area in the Hellenic Trench.

The ecological value of the Hellenic Trench as a critical habitat for many protected and threatened marine species mandates the protection of this unique ecosystem. That is why the organizations request the creation of an MPA in the Hellenic Trench including the enforcement of specific measures for the preservation of wildlife, like the prohibition of gas and oil exploration and exploitation, including seismic surveys, as well as the regulation of navigation to avoid ship collisions with marine mammals.

Find the organisations letter here.

Webinar Invitation- “Citizens’ participation in environmental policy-making”

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As part of the “Learn-Participate-Protect the Environment” project, iSea and The Green Tank invite you to a series of webinars on “Citizens’ participation in environmental policy-making” aimed at enhancing citizen participation in public debates and decision-making on environmental issues.

The webinar will be implemented:

“Recent developments in tackling marine plastic pollution”, Tuesday, February 20th, 16.00-18.00 EET

“Recent development in tackling biodiversity loss”, Thursday, February 22nd, 16.00-18.00 EET

“Citizens’ means of participation and advocacy”, Tuesday, February 27th, 16.00-18.00 EET

Find more about the webinar here.

Find the registration link here.

The project ”Learn-Participate-Protect the environment” aims to promote, strengthen and shield the participation of citizens in processes related to the creation and implementation of environmental policies in Greece, with emphasis on climate crisis, biodiversity loss and plastic pollution.  In order to achieve this, actions are organised with the aim to inform citizens on these three environmental issues and policy developments related to them, train citizens on how to participate in policy-making and educate citizens on how to use mass media and promote volunteering.

The project “Learn-Participate-Protect the environment” is implemented within the Active citizens fund program, by iSea and its partner The Green Tank.

Active Citizens Fund in Greece is supported through a € 13.5m grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway as part of the EEA Grants 2014 – 2021. The program aims to develop the sustainability and capacity of the civil society sector in Greece, and to strengthen its role in promoting and safeguarding democratic procedures, active citizenship, and human rights. The Fund Operator for the Active Citizens Fund in Greece is Bodossaki Foundation in consortium with SolidarityNow. Read more here: www.activecitizensfund.gr.

Press Release Fishing for Litter

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45 professional fishing boats contribute to the mitigation and monitoring of marine pollution through their participation in “Fishing for Litter” project.

Within the project, during 2023, the project participants removed more than 50 tons of benthic litter accounting for 45.000 litter items. The majority of these were Single Used Plastics, while 10% of the total items derived from the fishing industry itself.

Find more in the relevant Press Release here.

Learn more about the project here.

New report on Posidonia meadows in the Ionian Sea

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The Layman’s report ‘Prioritising Posidonia oceanica meadows in the Ionian Sea’ produced by iSea within the framework of REPOSIDONIA project, stresses the need for urgent decision-making towards their preservation.

Posidonia oceanica is one of our most crucial allies in Climate Crisis mitigation and essential component for safeguarding marine life in the Mediterranean. However, less 46% of its extent in the Ionian is finally protected.

The Layman’s report sheds light on the gaps of knowledge regarding the threats that Posidonia face in the Ionian Sea, prioritises the meadows that are in urgent need of protection and proposes specific actions to ensure the protection of Posidonia meadows in a local and national level.

Find more about the Layman’s report and its results in the corresponding Press Release here.

Find more about the value of Posidonia oceanica, the treats it faces in the Ionian and our proposals for its effective protection in the Layman’s report here.

The Layman’s report ‘Prioritising Posidonia oceanica meadows in the Ionian Sea’ was produced by iSea, in collaboration with terraSolutions.mer, Ionian Environment Foundation and Blue Marine Foundation, within the framework of REPOSIDONIA project. Find more about the project here.

 

Prosfero in Volos and Pelion

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Prosfero project (https://www.ab.gr/el/pg-prosfero), a joint effort of Procter & Gamble and AB Vassilopoulos for cleaner Greek seas and coasts operate in Volos and Pelion.

We invite you to become part of the solution for the area, by participating in our cleanup actions that will take place from November 28th, to the 2nd of December.

Find more about the actions here.

obSERVING NATURE Seminar & Bioblitz

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In the context of the obSERVING NATURE, iSea in collaboration with the School of Spatial Planning and Developement, invites you to a seminar on the topic of “Citizen Science: Its Contribution to Increasing Scientific Knowledge”, aiming to inform and train future and young scientists in data utilization and management collected from citizen scientists!

The seminar will take place on Wednesday, November 22nd, from 09:30 to 15:00 and will include lectures in the Auditorium of the Central Library of AUTH. This will be followed by a Bioblitz at wetland of Gallikos river, where participants will record the biodiversity of Axios Delta National Park using the iNaturalist platform.

Find more information about the seminar here.

Register your participation to attend the seminar here.

The project is implemented in the framework of the initiative for the iconic species of Greece, funded by WWF Greece.

Find more about the project here.

Event in Athens for the National Wetlands Park of the Ambracian Gulf

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We contribute to the effective management of the National Wetlands Park of the Ambracian Gulf and share with the public our experience and our plans for future actions!

iSea, Tethys Research Institute, ARCHELON, Hellenic Ornithological Society and the University of Patras invite you in Athens, at HIGGS on the 14th of November in the event held within “Contributing to the effective management of the National Wetlands Park of the Ambracian Gulf” project.

Find the agenda of the event here.

Find more about “Contributing to the effective management of the National Wetlands Park of the Ambracian Gulf” project here.

“obSERVING NATURE” 2nd webinar

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Updated meeting, updated agenda!

The utilization of available tools for monitoring biodiversity by citizens can contribute to filling knowledge gaps regarding protected and threatened species and, therefore, addressing the ongoing challenges to biodiversity.

For this reason, as part of the obSERVING NATURE project, iSea invites you to a webinar on: “Introduction to Citizen Science & iNaturalistGR” with the aim of promoting Citizen Science and introducing the public to iNaturalistGR platform, one of the most popular citizen science platforms worldwide.

The webinar will take place on Wednesday, November 8th, from 16:00 to 18:00, in Greek.

Find more information about the webinar and the agenda here.

Register to attend the webinar here.

Find more information about obSERVING NATURE here.

                                      

Meeting with the mussel farmers

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With the aim to prevent and mitigate mussel farming related waste in the Thermaikos Gulf, together with local associations and stakeholders we separately collected and recycled more than 20 tons of plastic mussel farming nets and ropes from Loudias estuary and Axios Delta.

Towards the active involvement of the local stakeholders, the recycling of more quantities of plastic mussel farming nets and the investigation of opportunities for reusing fishing equipment, we organise a meeting with the local stakeholders on the “Prevention and mitigation of fisheries related marine litter in the Thermaikos Gulf”.

The meeting will be held on Monday, October 23rd, 18.00-22.00, in the meeting room of the Municipal Council at the Chalastra Town Hall.

Find the proposed agenda for the meeting here.

Find more about our action in the area here.

obSERVING NATURE Webinar

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The utilization of available tools for monitoring biodiversity by citizens can contribute to filling knowledge gaps regarding protected and threatened species and, therefore, addressing the ongoing challenges to biodiversity.

For this reason, as part of the obSERVING NATURE program, iSea invites you to an online seminar on: “Introduction to Citizen Science & iNaturalistGR” with the aim of promoting Citizen Science and introducing the public to the iNaturalistGR platform, one of the most well-known citizen science platforms worldwide.

The seminar will take place on Wednesday, October 11th, from 16:00 to 18:00, online and it will be held in greek.

Find more information about the seminar’s agenda here.

Register your participation to attend the seminar here.

Find more information about obSERVING NATURE project here.