Ten years of co-management in Greek protected areas: an evaluation

Vokou, Despoina, Dimitrakopoulos, Panayiotis G., Jones, Nikoleta, Damialis, Athanasios, Monokrousos, Nikos, Pantis, John D. and Mazaris, Antonios D. (2014) Ten years of co-management in Greek protected areas: an evaluation. Biodiversity and Conservation, 23 (11). pp. 2833-2855. ISSN 1572-9710

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Abstract

The present study attempts an evaluation of the first co-management framework that has been adopted and implemented in Greece over the last 10 years for the management of its protected areas. To get insight as to how efficient it has been, we evaluate the performance and outcomes of the 28 management authorities of the protected areas of the country that substantiate it and the conditions under which they have been operating. The study involved a large part of the Greek conservation community. It was conducted via a questionnaire dealing with issues of financing and administration, environmental management and guarding, and connection with the local community. For co-management, it is essential that the actors involved undertake their share of responsibility, which should be clearly defined and delimited; this was not usually the case. Decentralization of the power of management requires capacity building locally and active involvement of the local community; these have been addressed and achieved only to a limited degree. Most importantly, the support and commitment to conservation of state actors were often missing. Funding discontinuities, delays in responding to needs associated with biodiversity monitoring and protection and inefficient guarding were the major problems resulting from the inadequacies detected. Despite its weaknesses, the co-management framework contributed considerably to the conservation of environmental values of Greece. We propose improvements and measures that can substantially increase its overall effectiveness towards nature conservation. However, under the severe crisis that the country has been facing, its future is currently unknown.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Keywords:	Biodiversity Conservation policy Governance Management Authorities Natura 2000 network, Conservation policy, Governance, Management Authorities, Natura 2000 network
Faculty:	ARCHIVED Faculty of Science & Technology (until September 2018)
Depositing User:	Repository Admin
Date Deposited:	26 Apr 2016 13:26
Last Modified:	09 Sep 2021 16:15
URI:	https://arro.anglia.ac.uk/id/eprint/607157

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