Greece plans marine protected areas as part of environmental protection program

Greece aims to create two large marine parks as part of a 780-million-euro ($830 million) program to protect biodiversity and marine ecosystems, with the plans to be formally announced at an international oceans conference starting in Athens Tuesday.
But the plan has irked Greece’s neighbor and regional rival, Turkey, while environmental organizations say the initiative doesn’t go far enough, noting that the country also allows environmentally harmful practices such as energy exploration in sensitive marine environments.
“We are increasing the size of our marine protected areas by 80%, banning harmful fishing practices and using new technologies to monitor and enforce the commitments we make here,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said ahead of the conference.