“Greek Wildlife Alliance”: Because nature wants us on the same team

PRESS RELEASE – Tuesday, October 7, 2025

11 Organizations, one team in the fight for wildlife and human welfare

 

With the main slogan “Nature wants us on the same team”, the new communication campaign launched today by the “Greek Wildlife Alliance”, reminds us that we are all together in the fight for wildlife and human welfare.

The “Greek Wildlife Alliance” is an ambitious, collective initiative. A group of eleven (11) environmental organizations with significant experience, which through the range of their actions strive for a common goal: the effective protection of well-known and lesser-known species that are important to our country, and their ecosystems.

And just as the success of a team is based on the efforts of each individual player, so too is the impact of the Greek Wildlife Alliance due to the work and dedication of the following environmental organizations:

1. ANIMA – Hellenic Wildlife Care Association
2. ARCHELON – Τhe Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece
3. CALLISTO – Environmental organization for wildlife and nature
4. Hellenic ORNITHOLOGICAL Society
5. Thrace Biodiversity Protection Society
6. Society for the Protection of Prespa
7. Hellenic Institute of Speleological Research
8. iSea – Environmental Organization for the Protection of Aquatic Ecosystems
9. MEDASSET – Mediterranean Association to Save the Sea Turtles
10. TETHYS Research Institute
11. WWF Hellas

 

Greece has more than 27,000 recorded animal species, 4,000 of which are endemic. However, at a time when wildlife and ecosystems worldwide are being pushed beyond their limits due to climate change and the degradation of nature, immediate and coordinated action is required. That is why this unique team is fighting on land, in the sky, at sea and in rivers, from one end of the country to the other, focusing on emblematic species of Greek fauna that are under threat.

Now in its third year of operation, the Alliance team has already achieved significant results. Indicatively, the following actions have been implemented during these years:

• ΑΝΙΜΑ:

Analysis of the largest database in Greece with over 62,000 cases of injury, infection or death of wildlife species due to human activities, with the aim of better understanding the factors that threaten wildlife, formulating effective policies to reduce such incidents and improving the diagnosis and treatment of wild species.

• Hellenic ORNITHOLOGICAL Society:

Completion of the national census of the Eleonora’s falcon, after 20 years, recording more than 13,000 pairs on over 1,000 islands and islets in the Aegean and Ionian Seas.

Information and collaboration activities with farmers and livestock breeders in Epirus to promote alternative herd protection practices in order to reduce the use of poisoned baits, which poses a significant threat to vultures and other animal species.

• Thrace Biodiversity Protection Society:

Organization of seminars for the relevant public authorities on the proper management of incidents involving poisoned baits, as well as activities to inform hunters about the results of the study on the wolf population and its interaction with hunting dogs.

Actions, in collaboration with the Hellenic ORNITHOLOGICAL Society, for the proper siting of wind farms in Thrace, protecting vultures and other birds of prey.

• Society for the Protection of Prespa:

Conducting a feasibility study for the restoration of the ecological functions of the Agios Germanos Prespa River, with the aim of protecting 9 endemic fish species.

• iSea:

Creation of a rapid identification tool for 16 protected species of sharks and rays in Greek waters, with the aim of facilitating their detection in trade by the control authorities and providing accurate information to professional fishermen.

Promoting Citizen Science with the aim of increasing knowledge about marine species (26,000 new users on the iNaturalist platform and 400 participants in Bioblitz scientific events).

• MEDASSET:

Informing fishermen in Zakynthos about best practices for releasing sea turtles from fishing gear, as well as conducting five underwater clean-ups in loggerhead turtle habitats, where over 100 kilograms of plastic were removed from the marine environment.

• Hellenic Institute of Speleological Research:

Documentation using scientific data and proposals to national and European authorities for improving the institutional framework for the protection and management of cave-dwelling species and their habitats.

• Callisto:

Recording of over 1,400 wolves in Greece and provision of scientific data on wolf-dog hybridization. In addition, creation, together with six other organizations, of the Large Carnivore Observatory to monitor issues related to the conservation and management of large carnivores.

• ARCHELON and WWF Hellas:

Assessment of over 100 nesting beaches of the loggerhead sea turtle, with the contribution of hundreds of citizen volunteers, recording the conditions and obstacles that affect nesting.

• TETHYS Research Institute and WWF Hellas:

Supporting research and conservation of cetaceans in the Hellenic Trench with the vessel “Blue Panda.” In the two missions carried out so far, researchers have collected data on cetaceans (sperm whales, ziphiuses, dolphins), highlighting the need to protect marine mammals.

• WWF Hellas:

Mapping the connectivity of Natura 2000 network areas for large mammals, in collaboration with the University of the Aegean. In addition, together with the Greek Agricultural Organization Dimitra and Callisto, potential ecological corridors for the isolated population of red deer in Parnitha were evaluated, and actions are now being implemented to record obstacles and encourage the natural spread of the deer towards Boeotia.

Commitment by seven shipping companies to voluntarily adopt course change measures, reducing the risk of ships colliding with sperm whales in the Hellenic Trench. This action was implemented in collaboration with the Pelagos Institute, Ocean Care and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).

Awarding of a total of 20 scholarships worth €10,000 each to young researchers for field research and study of endangered and rare species of Greek fauna. This initiative is being implemented in collaboration with the Hellenic Zoological Society and the Hellenic Herpetological Society.

 

Representing the Alliance, Panagiota Marangou, head of environmental protection programs at WWF Hellas, stated: “For many years now, numerous environmental organizations have been working, each in their own field, to protect wildlife. However, no single organization can achieve what we can all achieve together. Our shared love for the natural environment, as well as our recognition of the ever-increasing threats to wildlife, has led us to join forces and work in a more coordinated manner to protect Greece’s biodiversity. The “Greek Wildlife Alliance” driven by collaboration, seeks to amplify the results of each individual effort, for the benefit of nature and humanity. Because nature wants us on the same team”.

Learn more about the Greek Wildlife Alliance on the initiative’s official website:
www.greekwildlifealliance.gr

 

Notes/additional information:

The Greek Wildlife Alliance aims to address critical needs that can be summarized in five (5) thematic objectives:

1. Improving the management of terrestrial and marine protected areas, with an emphasis on areas that are important for selected iconic species, but also taking important measures to protect nature in the relevant management plans.
2. Improving wildlife management and restoration, by facilitating and strengthening stakeholder participation in the planning and implementation of actions and their acceptance by society, especially in protected areas.
3. Reducing threats and their impact on wildlife and promoting the integration of species protection into the economic and business sectors.
4. Expanding knowledge through applied research, in order to improve threat assessment and develop effective measures to protect species, especially lesser-known ones.
5. Promoting the peaceful coexistence of humans and wildlife. Collective and collaborative actions with communities, administrative authorities and the corporate sector, with the aim of co-creating and implementing sustainable solutions to prevent or limit unwanted human-wildlife interactions.

 

Watch the campaign’s video here.

More information for the media:
Christy Sotiriou, Press & Public Relations Officer, WWF Hellas – 6947880699, c.sotiriou@wwf.gr