Turkiye, environmental groups unimpressed by Greece’s marine park plan

Greece aims at creating two large marine parks as part of a 780-million-euro programme to protect biodiversity and marine ecosystems, with the plans to be announced at an international oceans conference starting in Athens

Greece aims at creating two large marine parks as part of a 780-million-euro programme to protect biodiversity and marine ecosystems, with the plans to be announced at an international oceans conference starting in Athens on Tuesday.

But the plan has irked Greece’s neighbour and regional rival, Turkiye, while environmental organisations say the initiative does not go far enough, noting that the country also allows environmentally harmful practices such as energy exploration in sensitive marine environments.

With thousands of islands and islets and one of the Mediterranean’s longest coastlines, Greece has said it will create one new marine park in the Ionian Sea and one in the Aegean Sea, bringing the total of marine protected areas to over 30% of its waters.

When the plan was aired last week, Turkiye’s Foreign Ministry accused Athens of exploiting environmental issues to push its geopolitical agenda. The countries, both NATO members, have been at odds for decades over a variety of issues, including territorial claims in the Aegean, and have reached the brink of war three times in the last 50 years.

Relations have improved somewhat over the past year following a period of heightened tensions that saw the countries’ warships face off in the eastern Mediterranean. But Ankara responded with annoyance to Greece’s plan for a marine park in the Agean.

“It is known that Greece has long been trying to benefit from almost every platform in the context of Aegean problems,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.

“Despite the recent softening in our relations, it appears that Greece is exploiting environmental issues this time.”