A major development that results from the licensing of wind farms in our Environmental organizationsher recent call. commission To Hellas. As they state, many areas such as Mountains of Akarnaniki, Evros, Karistia, Mani and other protected areas have been irreparably damaged by overzoning wind farms. And they are asking that a significant part of the protection of biodiversity be included in the long-awaited Special Territorial Plan for RES.

OUR Greek Ornithological Society, Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature and Callisto yesterday issued a joint statement regarding the submission to Greece of a reasoned opinion on the location of wind farms (see “K” 02/16/2023). As they argue, from 2014 (when the letter of warning was sent, the first stage of the appeal to the European Court of Justice) to the present day, “Greek nature has lost a lot: many sensitive protected areas in our country have been badly damaged by the uncontrolled placement of wind farms in them or in direct contact with them. The most notable examples are the Acarnanian Mountains, Evros, Karistia in South Evia and Mani, symbolic protected areas where several wind farms have already been installed. All of these areas are of great importance for protected bird species as well as mammals, habitats and flora. At the same time, based on plans and current practice, it is safe to say that the number of protected areas with wind farms located will increase,” they report.

Given that the Ministry of the Environment plans to consult a new Special Spatial Framework for RES in the near future, the three organizations point to the need to explicitly include the protection of biodiversity. “It is important that the content of this spatial planning is consistent with European legislation and jurisprudence not only in terms of but also in substance, including practices most widely used by the scientific community, such as sensitivity maps for biodiversity.”

A major parallel event is the adoption on December 29 of an urgent European regulation to accelerate the development of wind energy. Under certain conditions, the regulation even provides for derogation from Community directives on the protection of species and habitats in order to achieve EU energy autonomy. Considering … a misinterpretation that sometimes occurs in European legal texts, WWF sent a letter to the Ministry of the Environment, pointing out that international treaties (such as the Berne Convention on the Protection of Wildlife and the Environment) are legally stronger than the new regulation. He emphasizes that the environmental licensing process is not affected by the implementation of the regulation. And he notes that Greece has not introduced measures to protect the Natura areas, so it does not have enough data to properly implement the regulation in terms of impact assessment and provision of compensatory measures.