Wildlife Conservation in Crete

A visit to the Natural History Museum of Crete in Iraklion will show the world of Cretan nature.

Here we look at some of the rare and endangered fauna one-by-one, and organisations and projects which you can support.

Wildlife to Watch

	Monk Seal Monachus monachus
	Leatherback Turtle Dermochelys coriacea
	Green Turtle Chelonia mydas
	Loggerhead Turtle Caretta caretta
	Bearded Vulture Gypaetus barbatus
	Eleonora's Falcon Falco eleonorae
	Sperm Whale Physeter macrocephalus in Azores by Pedro Madruga www.espacotalassa.com
	Striped Dolphins Stenella coeruleoalba by Joćo Quaresma www.joaoquaresma.com
	Kri Kri Cretan Wild Goat Capra aegagrus creticus
	Cretan Spiny Mouse Acomys minous

Conservation & Action

	Pelagos Cetacean Research Institute	www.pelagosinstitute.gr
	Delphis Marine Dolphin Conservation	www.delphismdc.org
	Archelon – the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece	www.archelon.gr
	World Wildlife Fund Greece	www.wwf.gr
	The Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk Seal	www.mom.gr
	The Monachus Guardian	www.monachus-guardian.org

The main turtle nesting areas in Greece are in Zakynthos, at Kyparissia and Lakonikos, and Crete at Rethymnon, Chania or the Bay of Messara.

Quote from Archelon website about turtle projects in Crete:

“Crete is one of the most important known nesting areas for the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) in the Mediterranean, with an average of 500-800 nests laid annually on a total of 33km of beaches. Even though the nesting areas of Crete are now being included in the NATURA 2000 network of protected areas, uncontrolled coastal development and human interference are exerting intense pressure on the nesting beaches of the island.

The ARCHELON Project of Crete aims at protecting and monitoring turtles and nests, informing visitors and promoting the co-operation with local communities and authorities as well as the tourist industry in order to achieve long term conservation. Every year ARCHELON informs some 150,000 people about the threats sea turtles face on the island.”

Please consider what you might do to contribute to protecting some of Crete's unique animal species, have a look at the websites of these organisations. Of course each one is dependant on the healthy ecology of the island of Crete, her waterways and her seas.

The Cretan Spiny Mouse Acomys minous, is vulnerable and is on the ICUN Red List of endangered species. They are found in arid areas, and are nocturnal, best to look out for them at dusk and dawn.

Take Action After the Fires! Reforest Greece!

'Plant Your Roots In Greece' is a program actively involved in reforestation all over Greece, including Crete. After the fires of Summer 07, we have lost miles of precious forests and habitat. We need to replant now and recreate the forests of the future.

'Plant Your Roots in Greece' is a dedicated charity which commenced in 1991. Please click on the logo to donate on their website, with alot of more information about the good work they do.

Cavo Sidero

Jennifer Moody and Oliver Rackham, lovers of Crete and authors of the book 'The Making of the Cretan Landscape' would like everyone to know about this issue.

Below is some information paraphrased from Jennifer and Oliver:

Crete has its remote, wild places, even on the coast. Cavo Sidero is the extreme north-east tip, a dry jagged peninsula of lonely, vulture-haunted crags, grey-green bushes and white limestone desert, far from the tourist crowds. In this unlikely location several unsustainable developments such as golf-courses, holiday villages and hotels are being assessed.

Here grows some special, drought- or salt-adapted vegetation including some of the world's rarest plants. Like many semi-deserts it is rich in species: tiny, colourful plants that spring up after the winter rains and are gone before summer. A small part of the area is the palm-grove of Vai, known to the outside world as the largest area of the special, native Cretan palm-tree. It is suggested that Sidero become a National Park. It is protected for conservation under the Natura 2000 scheme. The area is utterly inconsistent with large-scale development.

The proposed development by Minoan Group and its subsidiary Loyalward is unsuited to the Cavo Sidero site. Anyone who has experienced the merciless winds will be sceptical about playing golf here at all. There is no infrastructure, and providing any would do great damage to the ecology. There is no local population; workers will have to be brought in from outside. Cliff-bound, rugged coasts and rough seas are unattractive to conventional seaside tourism: the few tiny beaches are choked with sea-brought rubbish.

The current proposal for a 7000 bed, luxury golf resort at Cavo Sidero in NE Crete could be an environmental and cultural disaster. We know this area well because for the last two years we have been conducting environmental and archaeological research there. It is a museum of ancient field systems and settlements unique in Crete. It is also home to endemic flora and fauna. The proposed golf resort is totally unsuitable given the semi-desert climate and environment and a travesty given the antiquities it will destroy and endemics it will threaten. We have a petition to stop the construction of this golf resort:

www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Save-the-Cretan-landscape

The Greek Supreme Court hearing for this development is 9th May 2008. There is not much time. Please help to sign and promote this petition.