“Key Biodiversity Areas, which are among the most incredible and diverse places on Earth for nature, from deserts to the middle of the ocean, are sites of global importance to the planet’s overall health and the persistence of biodiversity. The Key Biodiversity Area Partnership – an ambitious partnership of 13 global conservation organisations – is helping prevent the rapid loss of biodiversity by supporting nationally led efforts to identify these places on the planet that are critical for the survival of unique plants and animals, and the ecological communities they comprise.”
– https://www.keybiodiversityareas.org/

“Greece is leading the way in highlighting Key Biodiversity Areas as a key tool for expanding the network of protected areas,” according to the Secretary General of Natural Environment and Water in the Ministry of Environment and Energy, Petros Varelidis. Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) are recognised as sites of global importance for biodiversity by a new law, and the existing Natura 2000 Committee of Greece will form the KBA National Coordination Group for the country. The Natural Environment and Climate Change Agency (NECCA) will be responsible for the collection and management of KBA data for the country.

Law 5037/2023 will guide the implementation in Greece of the EU Biodiversity Strategy under which, by 2030, at least 30 per cent of the land and sea areas of the country are to be covered by protected areas. Key Biodiversity Areas should be fully covered by protected areas. Scoping projects to start identifying KBAs across Europe are being supported by EU Horizon grants with the aim that these will lead to more KBAs being proposed across the region.

Identifying KBAs in Greece

In Greece a total of 204 areas have been recognised as Key Biodiversity Areas. As Kostas Triantis, assistant professor of Biology at the National Kapodistrian University of Athens (EKPA) and managing director of NECCA, explained to Haniotika Nea, “Key Biodiversity Areas represent the most important areas of the planet for the preservation of biodiversity. That is to say they are the areas which carry the biggest load in the preservation of their living organisms and therefore need correct and long-term monitoring and protection.”

The development follows several years of work by Dr. Konstantina Spiliopoulou, who has been scoping Greece for potential KBAs for her PhD thesis (see map). The findings will be provided to the Natura 2000 committee to be considered for formal proposals of KBA sites in the coming years.

Areas of the nomos of Chania identified as KBAs

The areas so far identified as Key Biodiversity Areas in the nomos of Chania are as follows:
– GR 175 The Gramvousa Peninsula and the Gramvousa islands and Pontikonisi.
– GR176 The Rodopou Peninsula.
– GR177 The island of Agioi Theodori.
– GR178 The peaks of Koutroulis [Inachori] and Agios Dikaios [Pelekanos] and the Modia plateau.
– GR179 Levka Ori
– GR180 Lake Kournas, the Almiros delta and Georgioupolis beach.
– GR181 The islands of Gavdos and Gavdopoula.
– GR182 Mount Kryoneritis.

The difference between Key Biodiversity Areas and Natura 2000 areas

KBAs, as is emphasised both by global environmental objectives and by the European Union, are a basic tool for the better demarcation of Natura 2000 protected areas. One is a scientific tool and the other an administrative one. Therefore, to help in halting the rapid reduction of biodiversity worldwide, one priority must be the designation of protected Natura 2000 areas in places which are recognised as KBAs.

The aim of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 is for 30 per cent of land and 30 per cent of seas to be protected by the year 2030. According to law 5073/2023, by 2030 all the KBAs must be fully covered by protected areas. Therefore the aim is to extend the network of Natura 2000 protected areas and to create appropriate management plans to ensure the biodiversity of these areas.

What is biodiversity?

As defined by the European Environment Agency:
“Biodiversity is the name given to the variety of ecosystems (natural capital), species and genes in the world or in a particular habitat. It is essential to human wellbeing, as it delivers services that sustain our economies and societies. Biodiversity is also crucial to ecosystem services — the services that nature supplies — such as pollination, climate regulation, flood protection, soil fertility and the production of food, fuel, fibre and medicines.” – https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/biodiversity/intro