The Ministry of the Environment and Energy is in the process of designating two further areas as Protected Landscapes.
These areas are situated in the Agrafa and Vernon-Vici mountain ranges; with their inclusion, the total number of Protected Landscapes in our country now stands at twelve.
Specifically, the area around the “Mouskos” peak in the Agrafa mountain range, covering 10.4 square kilometres, which falls administratively under the Municipality of Agrafa in the Region of Central Greece, is designated as a Protected Landscape. Similarly, the area of the Vernon-Vitsi mountain range, covering 545 square kilometres, within the borders of the Region of Western Macedonia and extending to the municipalities of Florina, Amyntaio and Kastoria, has also been designated as a Protected Landscape and a Protected Natural Formation.
The designation “Protected Landscape” aims to ensure the effective protection and preservation of natural features of particular ecological, geomorphological, scientific, aesthetic and cultural value. At the same time, it contributes to the preservation of natural processes and the protection of natural resources in the two areas. Following the designation decisions, the relevant decisions by the Minister for the Environment and Energy, Mr Stavros Papastavrou, were issued, setting out the protection framework, including the terms and restrictions that will govern the preservation of natural features in the areas in question.
The two new Ministerial Decisions form part of the Government’s overall strategy for environmental protection, which includes a series of measures, such as the Antinero programme – recognised by the European Commission as a model of best practice – the designation of the 13 most unspoilt mountains, the establishment, for the first time, of conservation objectives for all protected areas within the Natura 2000 Network, the creation of two new large National Marine Parks (NMPs) in the Ionian Sea and the South Aegean – South Cyclades, the Presidential Decree for the protection of Gyaros, the protection of all important wetlands (Ramsar sites and small island wetlands) in the country, the designation of new areas as protected landscapes and/or protected natural formations, the adoption, for the first time, of 12 National Action Plans for the protection of endangered species and habitats, etc.
Source: money-tourism.gr