Greek environmentalists say wind farms threaten brown bears
The National Herald|Dec 31, 2024
Greece’s push for alternative and sustainable energy sources will bring more wind farms but environmentalist groups Arcturos and Callisto said the sites could risk the habitats of brown bears and were not considered by the Environment Ministry.
Greece’s push for alternative and sustainable energy sources will bring more wind farms but environmentalist groups Arcturos and Callisto said the sites could risk the habitats of brown bears and were not considered by the Environment Ministry.
ATHENS – Greece’s push for alternative and sustainable energy sources will bring more wind farms but environmentalist groups Arcturos and Callisto said the sites could risk the habitats of brown bears and were not considered by the Environment Ministry.
The organizations said the ministry instead has intervened in a national action plan for the brown bear, developed under the European Union’s LIFE program by removing references to the impact of the farms where the animals live.
They also said that proposals to safeguard the habitats were excluded but the ministry said the study didn’t have proper scientific evidence and would restrict renewable energy projects important to the government.
But the groups also said that the ministry’s final …
... more [truncated due to possible copyright]ATHENS – Greece’s push for alternative and sustainable energy sources will bring more wind farms but environmentalist groups Arcturos and Callisto said the sites could risk the habitats of brown bears and were not considered by the Environment Ministry.
The organizations said the ministry instead has intervened in a national action plan for the brown bear, developed under the European Union’s LIFE program by removing references to the impact of the farms where the animals live.
They also said that proposals to safeguard the habitats were excluded but the ministry said the study didn’t have proper scientific evidence and would restrict renewable energy projects important to the government.
But the groups also said that the ministry’s final draft of the plan the ministry submitted and approved was lacking crucial scientific data and alleged it was done so deliberately to weaken safeguards for the bears, said Kathimerini.
They claim that wind farm threats to bear habitats were omitted, along with essential sensitivity maps and that the ministry was putting wind farms ahead of protecting the animals and removing obstacles for environmental licensing.