"The climate is in your hands!"

Launched in 2007, the core thematic areas of this campaign were the following:

• Communicating the problem and its solutions
• Making policy out of science and lobbying for their adoption
• Mobilising society and raising public awareness
• Building solutions-oriented alliances

The campaign was conducted with the kind support of Ethniki Insurance

Coalition against coal

In the beginning of 2009, the Minister of Development announced the Government’s decision to exclude brown coal from the national energy mix and to immediately proceed with the necessary revisions in the national energy strategy. WWF Greece, as the initiator and host of the “Coalition against coal”, celebrated this government decision.

The “Coalition against coal” was initiated by WWF Greece and was formed in January 2008. Key members of the coalition were the eight municipalities and communities, where new brown coal power plants were planned. These municipalities and communities were Kavala, Almyros, Astakos, Distomon, Kireas, Antikyra and Kyriaki.

Through a series of joint lobbying and demonstration activities, the “Coalition against coal” won! All plans for new brown coal factories were cancelled. This coalition proved that standing united for the environment can bring huge victories.
Learn more at www.ohiallokarvouno.gr 

DETOX - Say no chemicals!

WWF Greece participated in WWF's EU-wide campaign aiming at the effective control of chemicals. Through its campaign in support of the REACH proposal (REACH stands for the Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of chemicals), WWF Greece introduced for the first time in Greece the issue of chemical contamination of wildlife and humans together with a solution: the European Commission’s proposal for the REACH Regulation. The voting of the REACH Regulation is deemed by WWF as a very positive step that will eventually lead to the identification and phasing out of the most harmful chemicals.
The DETOX campaign was successfully closed in 2007, after REACH was approved as a regulation of the European Union.

Revision of the Greek Constitution

In the framework of the 2001 constitutional revision process, WWF Greece launched a campaign to avert the planned weakening of protection status granted to forests and forested lands by article 24. In collaboration with many other environmental organizations, WWF Greece collected 35,000 signatures of support to an open petition against the Government’s revision proposal. This targeted campaign was successful in that the revised article 24 finally maintained the high protection status for forests.

“Forests for ever!”

This campaign started in 1998 and ended in 2000. Its aim was to open the public dialogue on forest fires and their root causes and to propose solutions. A series of activities were organized with the aim of promoting changes in key aspects of legislation pertinent to forest fires; improvement of forest fire protection in selected forests of ecological importance; implementation of reforestation activities with active participation of the public. 

Diversion of the Acheloos river

The plans for the diversion of the Acheloos River that runs along the heart of the Pindos Mountains to the agricultural plain of Thessaly met the strong opposition of WWF Greece and many other environmental NGOs that launched a joint campaign in 1992. Since then, a series of law cases against the Greek state have been won.

One beach for the sea turtles

Sekania hosts between 500-1000 nests of the endangered loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), one of the highest recorded nesting densities for this species world-wide. The conservation of Sekania beach, as well as the wider area of Laganas Bay with its 5 other nesting beaches, as a suitable nesting habitat, is therefore of great importance for the future of loggerhead sea turtles in the Mediterranean. 

The 32.7 ha of land surrounding Sekania beach was purchased by WWF Greece as a result of a European fundraising and public awareness campaign in 1994. Financial support was also granted by the European Union, through the ACNAT E.U./WWF-Greece Integrated Ionian Project. The aim of the land purchase was to secure the conservation status of the area through the aversion of tourist development and the implementation of management measures.