ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Transcription

1 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION by N.-K. Hlepas Αssociate Professor, University of Athens In 1975, the Constitution of the new- born Third Republic embodied pioneer, detailed regulations for the protection of the natural and cultural environment. Art. 24 underlines the obligation of the State to take all preventive and repressive measures required to protect the environment, while forests and forest areas obtained a special protection status including restrictions of private property rights. Having in mind the extensive damages caused to the urban landscape by the uncontrolled building craze during the fifties and the sixties, the new Constitution introduced strict standards for the physical and urban planning as well as for the safeguard of cultural heritage. about GREECE 343

2 SOCIETY These new regulations enabled the development of a pioneer jurisprudence by the Greek Conseil d Etat (Symvoulion Epikratias). Since 1991 a special section within thecourt(its5 th section)dealswith environmental issues. The same section gives opinion on the legality of draft presidential decrees on various matters, acting -onlyforthatpurpose-asagrand Corps de l AdministrationThe Court has underlined that the Constitution accepts only sustainable development. So, it demands an all-embracing environmental impact studies and affirms citizen s rights for access to environmental information. The Court s decisions forced the government to re-plan major projects and confirmed the reputation of the Greek Conseil d Etat as an independent, steadfast guardian of the environment. InApril2001,Article24oftheConstitution has been amended. The principle of sustainability has been explicitly adopted, while the protection of the environment has been explicitly recognized as a fundamental right of everyone. ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY Responsibility for environmental matters at the national level lies with the Ministry for the Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works. This Ministry, originally established in 1980 with the intention of concentrating all responsibilities within one body, has been constantly expanding its activities asnootherministrydidduringthe past decade. Nevertheless, some important responsibilities remained in the domain of other Ministries, such as the Ministry for Agriculture(forestry, hunting etc.) and the Ministry for Industry, Research and Technology. Administrative structures that specialize on environmental protection are necessary, in view of the sector-cutting nature of environmental issues and the high degree of professionalism and expertise that is needed. Today about 900 employees in the responsible Ministry ( YPE- HODE ) mainly work on physical planning and the protection of the environment, while ca. 15% of this staff followed postgraduate studies. Particularly important is also the Environmental Inspectorate Authority, which is one of the main bodies for enforcement and compliance to environmental legislation. Competency for environmental inspections were also given to various authorities, such as departmental and regional authorities responsible for the operation or environmental permitting, port authorities, health authorities, regional forest authorities and police authorities. A National Environmental Information Network and existing monitoring networks have been improved. It should be outlined, that European Community funds acted as catalysts for the promotion of environmental policiesandthecreationofneworganizational structures. In1995,anewBureauwasestablished in the Division of Environmental Planning, namely the Bureau for National Environmental Information Network and European Environmental Agency (hereinafter referred to as the Bureau). The Bureau has two major aims: to co-ordinate the National Environmental Network and 344 about GREECE

3 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION its connection with the European Network(EIONET); to co-ordinate and operate the GreekFocalPoint(NFP)ofthe European Environmental Agency(EEA). Thefirstaimisbeingsupportedby the National Environmental Information Network(EDPP). The second aim was initially accomplished through administrative actions such as staffing and budget allocations. Since the Earth Summit in 1992, Greece has been implementing a comprehensive policy towards sustainable development. Sustainability is introduced in the development policies of the country and sustainable practices are integrated in sectors such as energy, tourism, transport, agriculture and industry. The Ministry for the Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works has developed a co-ordination mechanism for sustainable development and the implementationofagenda21,inordertomobilise the interest and involvement of all the competent ministries andotherpublicsectorsandtocooperate with all relevant groups. Under this mechanism, the Ministry undertook the preparation of the annual reports for submission to the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development(CSD)inordertoassessthe progress towards the principles of Agenda 21. Effective environmental governance comprises a cycle of issue identification, stakeholder involvement, sound policy making and efficient implementation. Environmental institutional development and Governance procedures in about GREECE 345

4 SOCIETY Greece have been initiated largely due to the porting of EU policies and guidelines. As such, they are consistent to a great extent with the principles laid out by the world s most environmentally progressive entity. Greece has got significant environmental and institutional expertise at the administration s reach. This has been proved by the success of cross-cutting endeavours such as the National Strategy for Sustainable Development and, at a much larger implementation scale, the efficient one-stop shops for the citizen, known as Citizens Service Centers. In environmental policy, there is a growing tendency to shift from the predominant use of command and control instruments to an intelligent mix of regulative with nonregulative instruments, such as economic instruments is more than obvious. New European Directives on Environmental Liability and emissions trading scheme can be seen as two characteristic examples, while less progress has been achieved regarding energy taxation andmorehastobedoneinorder to getpricesworkfortheenvironment. In Greece, pricing policies, arealreadyusedinordertoencourage the production f clean energy whereas in many areas that present high external environmental costs (overuse of natural resources, pollution, solid waste management, transport etc.) environmental costs are increasing being internalized throughtheuseoftheeconomicinstruments. Such changes can, however,beproceededonlyafteranextensive dialogue with the social and economic stakeholders. The introduction of economic environmental instruments must be phased over a number of years including trial runs.itisworththetrouble,asthis concept can crucially contribute to the preservation of natural capital asthebasisofeconomicandsocial development and can further boost business competitiveness in terms of eco-efficiency and technological innovation. A STRONG TRADITION OF ENVIRONMENTAL NGOS Conservation and management of the environment also depend on the activity of non-governmental organisations that focus on environmental issues. In Greece, these NGOs varyintermsoftheirframework of structure and operation, their basic objectives, their range of activity, the number and scope of their interventions, etc. Most of the Greek organisations undertake actions, which are limited in numberandscopeandforthemostpart involve issues of local importance, perhaps focusing on the protection ofaspecificspeciesofplantoranimal. However, the projects most likely to attract wide public attention are those of the relatively large organisations, which have the advantage of an organised, professional working framework and many years of experience. Some of these represent the Greek branches of organisations active in many countries; others are purely Greekinorigin.Theissuesthatinterestthemdonotusuallyfallinto any narrow, local category, although in some cases they concentrate their efforts on the conservation of just one species and its habitat. An NGO is any kind of private non-profit society agency whose primary objective is to provide general development aid. An NGO 346 about GREECE

5 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION may be set up by a group of citizenswhowanttoopposeagovernment programme, by an association of experts seeking to ensure that the state has the benefit of neutral and unbiased advice, by an industrial sector attempting to shape government policy to serve its interests, and in general by groups of people trying to strengthen their role in the decision-makingprocess.thefactthatmostenvironmental NGOs in Greece are mainly small groups with no rigid structure and very limited funds renders them even weaker when they are about to negotiate with the local or regional authorities let alone from the central government. For this reason, the environmental NGOs created already in 1988 the Pan-Hellenic Network of Ecological Organizations, representing the largest part of Environmental Organizations throughout Greece, which acquired legal status in June Later on, the responsible state authorities acknowledged the importance and mutual benefit of close cooperation with NGOs. In the meantime, an official register of environmental NGOs has been established. Many of these NGOs collaborate with public authorities, mainlywiththeministryfortheenvironment, Planning and Public Works, but also with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or other Ministries. Environmental NGOs are also very important for public involvement in the collecting of environmental information, and in theevaluationoftheneedforinformation, which can significantly increase the likelihood of correct decisions being made. However, particular attention must be paid to the way in which environmental information is disseminated. The public is becoming ever more demanding, requiring new and more accurate data on environmental about GREECE 347

6 SOCIETY problems and even challenging the most widely discussed issues (greenhouse effect, lack of water resources, etc.). Moreover, just as political propaganda may undermine a democracy, so a continual stream of information on a narrow range of environmental problems may mislead the public. MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION OF BIO-DIVERSITY InGreece5500speciesoffloraand 900 species of fauna have been recognised. Many of them are rare and endemic. There are also many protected areas, significant numberofwhichisofinternationalinterest, and Greece has been committed to their protection through international conventions. Inductively there are 10 National parks, 11 Wetlands of international interest(ramsar), 51 preserved natural monuments, 300 Corine bio-topes, 113importantareasforthebirdsof Europeetc.Therearealso265areas which have been proposed for the Natura 2000 network. The main problems for Greek ecosystems which are of great value are caused from some intensive human activities (tourism, mining, agriculture, animal grazing etc.) which have as a result the degradation of bio-topes and the diminution of flora s and fauna s population. Since the Earth Summit in 1992, Greece has been implementing a comprehensive policy towards sustainable development. The mainaimofactionstakenonthe management and protection of bio-diversity is to provide the knowledge and the facilities for monitoring, protecting and managing the flora and fauna species. A major problem for Greek forest ecosystems is that of forest fires. The lack of a forest cadastre encourages the process of illegal settling and building on the areas offorestwhichhavebeenburnt.a huge effort has been launched quite recently with the cadastral survey of the country. According to the Greek Constitution the reforestation of the burnt forests and forest areas is obligatory while anychangeintheforestlanduse is prohibited. The completion of the forest cadastre is expected to protect forest land from illegal grape. The forest Services have been provided with the necessary infrastructure, but there is still lack of adequate trained staff and laxity in the observance of the law. The Local Authorities and particularly the Central Union of Local Authorities of Greece in order to address this problem have also undertaken many actions, such as organizing groups of voluntary firemen, local civilians that proved to be very efficient. Desertification in Greece is a graduallyemergingdanger.thisisaresult of the country s geological, topographical and climatic characteristics, which cause soil erosion, often leading to the final and almost total loss of productivity, as wellasthedrasticreductionofwater resources. Greece ratified the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and in close co-operation with the other European Mediterranean Countries proceeds to the formulation of the national and re- 348 about GREECE

7 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION gional programmes to confront the danger. For this purpose a National Committee was set up and various scientific and technical meetings are organised. COASTAL ZONES- MARINE ENVIRONMENT Greece gives high priority to the protection of the marine environment and the sustainable development of coastal areas and islands. The country s coastline of 15,021 kmisthemostextensiveamongall Mediterranean countries. This coastline is evenly distributed between the continental part of the country and the Greek islands, which number approximately 3,000. The coastal area contains diverse and productive ecosystems that house many rare species in need of protection (e.g. sea turtle Caretta- caretta, monk seal Monachus- monachus etc.). The high coastal concentration of population and economic activities generates pressure to coastal areas. Non-built up and natural conservation areas have decreased and the coastal landscape has beenalteredintherecentyears.at the same time pollution problems have emerged in enclosed seas and bays. All these call for the adoption of a special management policy that will ensure both the protection of marine and coastal ecosystems, and the future development of human activities in a sustainable way. The Greek Ministry for the Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works formed a Committee to address the problems of Greek coasts and islands in an integrated way, and launched the National Programme for Sustainable Development of Greek Coastal Areas and Islands. Furthermore, actions have been taken within the framework of the Greek Operational Environmental Programme for the Protection of Marine Environment, aiming at the de- about GREECE 349

8 SOCIETY velopment of the necessary infrastructure for oil spill treatment and reception facilities for oil and chemical residues from ships. Cleaning and restoration projects havebeencarriedoutaswell. The Greek Ministry for the Environment has established an integrated network for monitoring the quality of sea water. The quality of bathing water has been monitored in major bathing areas during the tourist period. The results, presented annually in a special report,showthatmostoftheareas examined meet the requirements of EEC Directives. Consequently, a great number of bathing beaches has been awardedtheeublueflag.for the bathing season 2004, 99,9% of Greek coasts complied with national requirements, while 97,6% of coasts met EU requirements. The quality of sea water in general is monitored under the MED-POL programme. This involves monitoring stations covering enclosed bays as well as the open sea. The results are presented annually in a special report, and show that in the open sea no pollution problem has been observed. In the bays, certain parameters show increased values. Greece gives special importanceto,andisinvolvedinthe Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP), which operates in the framework of Barcelona Convention. The Co-ordinating Unit of MAP is hosted in Athens since UNEP s programme MAP concerns the protection of the Mediterranean basin from pollution coming from land based activities. Furthermore, a Protocol is being prepared for the prevention of pollution in the Mediterranean from transboundary transportation and disposal of hazardous waste andanactionplanisbeingpromoted for the priority toxic substances. WASTE MANAGEMENT One of the major environmental problems of Greece was, until recently, the lack of management (collection, treatment, disposal) of solid and toxic wastes. Therefore in many-uncontrolled waste disposal areas there are odours, pollution of surface and underground waters, air and soil pollution, fire danger and aesthetic pollution. During the last years, Greece is promoting the needed actions for the solutionoftheproblemasaresult of the country s national needs and responsibilities to the E.U. At the national level, technical specifications for the safe handing of waste are being determined. A system of permits was introduced for the collection and transport of 350 about GREECE

9 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION solid waste. Legislation has been issued aimed at reducing air pollution from waste incineration plants. Threshold limits have been established for heavy metals in sewage sludge used in agriculture. Activities were initiated to promote waste prevention and recycling. Recycling programmes are being implemented for paper, glass and aluminium. Programmes are being introduced for the reduction of weight and volume of packaging material. Awareness campaigns are being carried out. Responsibilities for waste management have been delegated to local authorities. The management of liquid wastes is focused on the treatment of liquid wastes at the national scale with the construction of waste treatment facilities in settlement larger than 15,000 inhabitants. The problem of industrial pollution in Greece is not so big (heated - sharp)asinthecountriesofnorthern Europe, because Greece has a few heavy industry. Forallthat,thereisproblemofindustrial pollution in some areas, the big urban centres, which are also the big industry areas in Greece. The industry today in Greece is characterised by improvement efforts for the environment sector. The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposalwassignedin1989andwasratified in National legislation provides for planning of the management of toxic and dangerous waste, procedures for the transport of dangerous waste, special permits for the disposal and storage of dangerous waste and measures for building facilities for toxic residues at ports. The EU Eco-Label Award Scheme has been implementedatthenationallevelwitha view to minimising certain waste products. Significant progress has beenmadeinthemanagementof hazardous waste, and sludge and electricity production from biomass gases and waste has increased from1gwhin1999to126gwhin ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT The atmospheric pollution is a problem for the last 30 years in Greeceandisrelatedtotheurbanism and the economical developmentofthecountry.theregionof Attiki faces the most significant problems due to the climatic features, heavy traffic and unfavourable topography for the dispersion of atmospheric pollution. Measures for the solution of the problem have been applied since These measures were targetingtothereductionofso 2 andpb high emission rates. The measures that have been takenforthereductionofso 2 included the prohibition of crude oil utilisation to central heating and continuous reduction of S content into crude oil and diesel. The above measures had excellent results and therefore the problem of SO 2 todayisundercontrol. AsfarasPbisconcernedairpollutionhasbeenreducedduetothe use of unleaded gasoline. Parallel to the above measures, anotheractionofthecountryisthe about GREECE 351

10 SOCIETY continuous provision of the required infrastructure for better diagnosis of the problems and consequently for better interventions. The Environmental Services have beenalsotakenaseriesofmeasures which concerned the industry, the central heating, the improvement of fuel quality, the replenishment of old cars, the improvement of traffic conditions(e.g. construction of metro) etc. ThenoisezonesinGreecearethe urban areas and mainly Athens where it has been concentrated the 40% of Greek population, the 35% of industrial and handicraft activitiesandthe70%ofservices.other noise zones are the main arterial roads, industries, ports, airports, tourist and construction activities. The general aim of action programme for atmospheric environmentandnoisehasbeen thedevelopment of the infrastructure for the continuous monitoring of the atmospheric environment(including air emissions) of Greece, with emphasis given to large urban centers and to areas with significant energy production units. The atmospheric pollution is a dynamic problem which evolves and changes with time. So further long time efforts are necessary in order to be controlled. The Noise abatement programme in major Greek cities attempts to reduce noise in major Greek cities through such actions as periodic inspections for motor vehicles/motorcycles and major industrial installations with respect to their noise levels, the construction of noise protective barriers along major highways, the promotion of noise insulation materials in buildings, and the promotion of so-called quiet products, that is products which by being quieter are more favourable to the consumers. According to its commitments, the Greek government has elaborated National Action Programme forclimatechange,initsdesireto contribute to the world s effort to protect the natural environment. The implementation of the measures is supported either by administrative policies focusing on the necessary regulations, or by economic policies aiming at modifying the behaviour of those involved. The interventions contained in the program are: supply-side interventions(modernisation of the existing power generation system, development of TIP generation system, the introduction of Natural Gas in the national energy and renewable energy sources exploitation) demand-side interventions(energy conservation in the domestic, commercial and public sectors, technological interventions in the industrial sector and for the transport sector and for the transport sector interventionsinthefueltypesused,improvement of vehicles in circulation and rational management and modernisation of the entire transport system). The programme aimed to be the Greek contribution to the EU obligationtostabilise-asawhole-its CO 2 emissionsbytheyear2000at 1990 levels. 352 about GREECE

11 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION In order to fulfill the obligations under the Convention, Educational Programmes are organised for the issues of Climate Change, financial contributions are made to the Trust Fund of the Convention for the participation of the developmentcountries,togefandtoregional Development Banks and technical assistance is provided to developing countries. WATER RESOURCES The uneven distribution of activities inthecountryresultedinwaterdemands which often can not be covered by local water resources and therefore rational water resources management at a national level is a high priority in Greece. The management of the quality andthequantityofthewatersin lakes and rivers Deltas, where there are important bio-topes, is of high significance. The water resources management in Greece progressed significantly during the last years, mainly after thecreationofanewlegalframework. However, the spreading of management responsibilities to a large number of Ministries and Public Services raises serious difficulties. In Greece, irrigation is of paramount importance for agriculture productivity. It accounts for over 80% of total water abstractions. Between 1992 and 2002, water abstraction for agriculture has been reduced by 2,5%. Within the next years, further reductions will be achieved. The important rivers of Greece(Axios, Strymon, Nestos, Evros) have their springs in other countries whiletwoofthemainlakes(doirani and Prespes) are international. For the above reasons the co-operation with the neighbouring countries for the management of fresh waters is very important for Greece. Urban, industrial and agricultural liquid wastes are responsible for the pollution of fresh waters in Greece. The pollution extend in every region of Greece depends on the local conditions and on the availability of waste water treatment facilities. Significant progress has been made in wastewater management and approximately 70% of the national population was serviced by wastewater treatment in LAND&URBANPLANNING/ AESTHETIC POLLUTION The inadequate land and urban planning during resulted in the gradual degradation of the natural and urban environment inmanyareasofthecountry. The National Action Plan for Cities and Housing ( ), which Greecehasdevelopedaspartofits participation to the HABITAT II International Conference of the United Nations on Human Settlements (Instanbul 1996) has two main objectives: the creation of cities which provide safe, healthy, equal and sustainable living conditions and the guarantee of adequate housing for all. National actions taken with regard to human settlement development are: Urban Planning programme for the definition of urban about GREECE 353

12 SOCIETY plans for cities which lack relevantplans,aswellasforthe improvement of existing urban plans in light of modifications intheurbanstructureandthe operations in the city. Considerable emphasis is given to the development of urban plans for estates located in ecologically sensitive areas, coastal zones and islands. Projects for the protection of historical and traditional sites aiming at the improvement of urban conditions in selected Greek cities, traditional settlements andtouristsites,inordertoimprovethequalityoflifeandliving and working conditions. Under this framework a special programme for the Urban restoration in cities and settlements, excluding Athens, Attica and Thessaloniki, is being implemented. Special programmes are financed that include interventions at local and regional scales in such thematic areas as: air, water, waste, traffic, noise, land planning, urban development, environmental awareness and legislation. ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION TheMinistryofEducationhasasa target the reorientation of education towards sustainable development. In this context Environmental Education Centres(E.E.C.) have been established, where students participate in special Environmental Education programmes. The E.E.C. also organise special Environmental Education training programmes for employees, community organisations, teachers etc. A systematic co-operation has been established on special pedagogical Environmental Education pilot projects, with major Environmental groups such as WWF, Goulandri Museum of Natural History, Greenpeace, etc. Two Greek Ministries and USA have signed an intergovernmental Co-operation Agreement for the global network GLOBE that concerns the creation of environmental stations in schools. The necessity for briefness does not allow a more extensive referencetobemadeaboutnumerous other individual programmes, actions and decrees relevant to the protection, management and rehabilitation of the environment in Greece. Nevertheless, what is clear fromtheaboveisthatgreecehas adopted an environmentally friendly policy which it attempts to apply to all sectors through national legislation, adoption of European environmental laws, and participation in international agreements concerning the protection of the environment. USEFUL LINKS Hellenic Ministry for the Environment, Physical Planning& Public Works about GREECE