On Sunday 16^th of December 2018, the second workshop of the LIFE Natura Themis project took place in the village Krya Vrysi of the Municipality of Agios Vasileios in Rethymnon.

The workshop entitled “Right and Liability for the Environment”, was co-organized by the University of Crete-Natural History Museum of Crete (UoC-NHMC), the Cultural Association of Krya Vrysi “35 Ethnomartyres” and the Municipality of Agios Vasileios. The workshop was held in the renovated old elementary school of Krya Vrysi between 11.00 am and 14.00 pm. Villagers and locals, as well as the Mayor of Agios Vasileios Giannis Tatarakis and the Regional Counselor Nikos Kakogiannakis participated.

The following presentations were given:

The project LIFE NATURA Themis: main actions and statistics. Elisavet Georgopoulou PhD, Biologist, UoC-NHMC.

Environmental protection during the times of the economic crisis.  Dr. George Papakostantis, former lecturer of the technological Educational Institute of Crete and high rank officer of the Hellenic Police.

Administrative failures and gaps in the Legislation. Iosifina Saridaki, Lawyer, member of the Bar Association of Rethymnon.

Administrative management of NATURA 2000 protected areas in Crete. Vasilis Samaritakis, Forester, External collaborator, Decentralized Administration of Crete.

Biodiversity and ecosystem services in the NATURA 2000 Network areas in Crete. Elisavet Georgopoulou PhD, Biologist, UoC-NHMC.

The impact and consequences of the absence of a spatial planning of the rural land. Dr. Alekos Stefanakis, Veterinarian, President GEOTEE-Branch of Crete.

The main points of the workshop are summarized below:

• All human activities have consequences for the environment. The results of the activities sometimes become obvious quickly, while other times the environmental degradation is very slow.
• True rates of Environmental Crime are unknown as only a small piece goes on the record. Nevertheless, the results of the crimes against the environment are obvious.
• Environmental protection is not a priority to our society. The economic crisis has made things worse and the state is not always able to protect the environment.
• Greece is a “champion” of environmental crimes in Europe.
• Although the Environmental Legislation of Greece is rather rich, there is an increase in environmental crimes.
• The complex legislation framework, the lack of specialization in environmental crime and the lack of spatial planning are among the reasons that lead to the increase of environmental delinquency.
• Balance with nature is a prerequisite for good quality of life and the development and prosperity of society.
• Nature has self-cleaning and anti-pollution mechanisms against degradation/pollution caused by natural processes. On the contrary, pollution caused by human activities is dangerous and is very often irreversible.
• The protection of the environment can be accomplished through science, research, legislation, and good practices by the citizens.
• Both the state and the citizens have the right and the liability for the environment.

The pdf files of the presentations are provided below (in Greek).