Biodiversity

The term “biodiversity” (or biological diversity) refers the variety of life on earth, at all levels: from the genes in the DNA of each organism, to the different species of animals and plants and the complex ecosystems of the planet.

The same term also includes the relationships that develop between them and thus “embraces” all life on Earth, describing a network where all organisms have their own important role to perform. Among them, of course, are humans.

The closer the interaction between ecosystem biodiversity, species biodiversity (animals and plants) and genetic biodiversity, the more resilient is the web of life on the planet. On the contrary, each time one species disappears, a “knot” is untied, which provided stability to the next. That is why maintaining a strong biodiversity network is critical for the health of the planet and for humans.

Especially today, in the face of the climate change impacts, which are becoming increasingly felt, it has become clear that biodiversity is an irreplaceable “safety net” and that its protection must be prioritised.

Until recently, the biggest threat to the planet’s biodiversity was soil degradation and habitat loss. Climate change is now added to these threats. The result: biodiversity loss, at the global scale, is currently 100 to 1,000 times greater than normal levels.

For humans, this loss of biodiversity is becoming a serious threat, even more serious than climate change! And one of the main reasons for this is that, unlike the impacts of climate change, which due to their form and intensity are immediately noticeable, the consequences of biodiversity loss are “silent”. And by the time they get accounted for, it’s usually already too late.

Greece is a country with significant biological diversity, a high density of species and an impressive mosaic of ecosystems. In our country, more than 23,000 species of land and fresh water animals and another 3,500 sea species have been recorded to date, but the total number is estimated to be more than double. The same is true for the Greek flora, which includes more than 5,800 recorded plant species.

Another characteristic of the Greek fauna and flora is the high rate of endemism, i.e. the number of species that can be found only in Greece or in just specific parts of the country.

Nowadays we do know that the operation of the NATURA 2000 network of protected areas is one of the most valuable tools, if not the most valuable, for halting the loss of biodiversity. In fact, its benefits spread to a large extent in areas outside the network.

For this reason, the expansion of the NATURA 2000 network -with an emphasis on marine areas- and the improvement of its operation, are one of the central objectives and axes of the European Union’s Strategic Plan for biodiversity.