The Greek parliament authorised a debated coastal improvement invoice on Thursday, amid issues from environmentalists and a few politicians, who declare that the regulation poses a risk to the nation’s seashores.
Last week, eight environmental organizations, together with the WWF and Greenpeace, known as on parliament to withdraw the invoice that might take away a coastal safety zone designed to restrict seaside building.
The authorities insisted it might be good for business and would shield the atmosphere.
“We have a duty to protect our beaches and at the same time to support the legal tourism businesses that are developing along the coastline and are compatible with the environment,” Finance Minister Harry Theoharis advised parliament on Thursday.
The goal of the regulation is to “protect the great richness of the country’s long coastline… 13,676 kilometers (8,500 miles),” he mentioned.
However, the left-wing opposition social gathering Syriza mentioned the regulation threatened the seashores and would hand them over to “private interests.”
In a joint assertion printed final week, the group of NGOs mentioned the invoice failed to supply “necessary safeguards and improve the framework for the immediate removal of illegal buildings along the coastline.”
The invoice, which was put ahead by the finance ministry, “is abolishing the already inadequate setback zone of 30 meters (about 100 feet) from the shoreline,” the assertion mentioned.
“Unfortunately, in Greece, coastal ecosystems are treated as land for housing and tourist development.”
The authorities responded that “improving the management of coastal areas” can be “beneficial to the national economy and environmental protection.”
Illegal building is rampant in Greece the place the constructing business is without doubt one of the primary sectors of the financial system.
In 2020, the European Court of Justice judged that Greece had violated its obligations below EU regulation for not defending a few of its susceptible ecosystems.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
