The WCA, along with one hundred scientists, scientific bodies and organisations from all over the world, have joined forces with WWF Greece to urge Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to cancel planned hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation in the Ionian Sea.
WWF Greece and the other experts supporting the initiative, including the WCA, argue the planned exploration for hydrocarbon reserves off Greece’s western coast will have a devastating effect on the country’s marine environment and wildlife.
Based on its data, WWF Greece said that blocks that have been or will be granted for drilling overlap with two regions in Greece identified as globally Important Marine Mammal Areas; the Ionian Archipelago region and the Hellenic Trench Region.
The Hellenic Trench extends from the Ionian Islands to southern Crete, is an important ecosystem for several rare and vulnerable species, such as fin, sperm and Cuvier’s beaked whales, Mediterranean common dolphins, other dolphin species and large marine vertebrates.
