Fresh measures adopted to protect marine environment

Four months after an oil spill from a sunken tanker hit the Athens Riviera, Greece’s Environment Ministry has adopted a package of measures designed to protect the marine environment across the country more effectively.

The measures include systematic research and monitoring operations for better-informed policymaking, the review of legislation on dumping treated sewage into the sea, training programs for fishermen and consumers, and the hammering out of an emergency plan to fight sea pollution from hydrocarbons.

The program was adopted by the ministry’s special secretariat for water, effectively harmonizing national standards with the European Union’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive.

The directive aims to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) of the bloc’s marine waters by 2020 and to protect the resource base upon which marine-related economic and social activities depend.