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WP2 – NATIONAL REPORT ON AVAILABLE LITERATURE AND EXISTING CASE STUDIES ON

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES “ECO-AWARENESS, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND PERFORMANCE OF GREECE”

PERIKLIS KOSMIDIS, ANASTASIA TRAIANOU, KONSTANTINOS PAPADOPOULOS

MUNICIPALITY OF KILKIS KILKIS, GREECE

ARIESPOLARIS@GMAIL.COM, KOSTAS@KPAPADOPOULOS.GR

ABSTRACT

The laws and regulations in Greece and the European Union (EU) for the protection of the environment are numerous and cover all areas of environmental concern, such as air pollution, pollution of water bodies, natural environment, protection of fauna and flora, global warming, waste-toxic waste, industrial, environmental policy, environmental impact studies, etc. The EU has entered the environmental legislation in the website: EUR-LEX-the portal to European Union Law http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/index.html. The national legislation of Greece is in accordance with the EU directives, but in some cases, in recent years, there hasn’t been achieved a level of full coordination, although there is specific alignment date acceptable to member states (exceptions in limited circumstances). 1. INTRODUCTION This text presents the legislative procedures that apply in relation to environmental protection in Greece. Specifically the following is recommended: the current legal framework in Greece, consistency and compliance with the EU legislative framework, some notes in significant changes, institutions responsible for the implementation of legal applications in Greece, and the actual impact of the legislation. Further case studies are presented that describe approaches, methodologies and practices focusing on ecological awareness. Other points of reference are the existing local, regional and national projects on ecological awareness and the existing literature on environmental issues. The purpose of this document is to inform European Citizens about the laws, practices and environmental strategy that applies in Greece, with a view to exchanging ideas and implementing the best practices from other European and non-European countries.

 

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2) LEGISLATIVE ACTS IN THE SPHERE OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION The problem of environmental pollution in Greece, began to appear in the sixties, but wasn’t given the proper attention by the state. Critical point for Greece, on the issue of environmental protection was in 1975 with the adoption of the current Constitution (as amended in 1986 and 2001) with which the Article 24 established for the first time in the constitutional history of the country the direct constitutional protection of the environment in large format. The Article 24 of the Greek Constitution constitutes the cornerstone of national environmental legislation. Article 24 also defines, that “protection of the natural and cultural environment is an obligation of the State and the right of everyone. To preserve the environment, the State is bound to adopt special preventive or suppressive measures under the principle of sustainability. The Law 1650/1986 is the basic law for the environment in our country. It defines the protection of the environment as a necessary precondition “so that man, as an individual and member of the society, lives in a high quality environment in which health is protected and the development of his personality is being sheltered”- but also as “a fundamental and integral part of the cultural and development process and policy”. Besides the Law 1650/1986, the national environmental legislation consists of many laws, decisions and ministerial decrees. Specifically the main objectives of this law are:

a) Prevention of pollution and generally the preventing of degradation of the environment and taking all necessary measures for this purpose,

b) Protection of human health from various forms of environmental degradation especially from pollution and nuisance

c) Ensuring the possibility of renewal of natural resources d) Maintaining the ecological balance of natural ecosystems and ensuring their reproductive capacity. e) Restoration of the environment

MAIN FEATURES OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL LAW As each sector of law governed by certain principles, so in environmental law the researcher formulate general principles, which are the main characteristics of the sector. The environmental protection law has established the following characteristics:

a. The principle of prevention b. The principle of the polluter c. The principle of subsidiarity cooperation d. The principle of publicity

a.The principle of prevention Main objective of the law to protect the environment should not be to eliminate any environmental damage, but to avoid or prevent the adverse environmental encumbrance. b.The principle of the polluter The principle of polluter shall take effect when environmental damage has already occured. Unlike what happens in the public economy, where the state budget deficits are required to be covered by all citizens, in environmental cases there is a singularity. That is, strictly applied the principle of the polluter. This means that the person who put a strain on the environment is required under the applicable legislation to assume the cost to remove the pollution or even to avoid future burden or eventually to pay a compensation amount for the damage that he/she caused. c.The principle of subsidiarity cooperation The principle entails the need for the state to cooperate with society for the protection of the environment. It’s the principle that the Law 1650/1986 called “principle of economical balance”, to avoid conflicts between

 

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private and public interest. This cooperation should be carried out through a joint committees, which under take to solve the problems. The principle of subsidiarity plays an important role in ensuring the full implementation of goals, objectives and measures with relevant national, regional and local efforts and initiatives. Practically, this principle helps to take into full account the traditions of different regions, especially in the European Communities and the relationship between the cost and performance of various actions and make better selection of measures. According to the Treaty on European Union, the European Communities undertake action based on the principle of subsidiarity cooperation, only if the objectives of the proposed action can’t be sufficiently achieved from the EU members and therefore, because of the scale or the effects, they can be better achieved by the European Communities. d.The principle of publicity The sector of protection of the environment as younger sector of law, is directly connected with the principle of publicity, i.e. the overt action of administrative bodies. The legislative environmental framework in Greece has relevance with the European legal framework.The following are implemented in Greece concerning the environment: Laws, Presidential Decrees and Joint Ministerial Decisions. The legislative framework in Greece for the environment is carried out periodically in accordance with EU Directives. The European Ecological Network “Natura 2000” and the case of Greece The European ecological network Natura 2000, is a network of nature protection areas that stretches across the Community and aims to ensure the long term preservation of the most valuable and most threatened species at a satisfactory level. The list of sites that meet the criteria of the presence of habitats and Species of the Directive 92/43/ EC in Greece (296 areas-“Scientific Catalog”) was produced by a group of 100 scientists set up specifically for this purpose under the European program Life entitled “Recording, Identification, Assessment and Mapping of habitat types and species of Flora and Fauna of Greece (Directive 92/43/EEC). In “Scientific Catalog” joined almost all the previously protected areas at national and international level. Greece has characterized today 202 Special Protected Areas (SPA) and 241 Areas of Community Importance (ACI). Commission “Natura 2000” Commission “Natura 2000” is the central scientific advisory body of the State for the coordination, monitoring and evaluation of policies and measures for the protection of Greek biodiversity. The smooth functioning of the Commission is the responsibility and obligation of Minister of Environment, Energy and Climate Change.(Law 3937/2011, article 19). The Commission “Natura 2000” instituted by the mutual Ministerial Decision 33318/3028/1998 (Government Gazette 1289 II/12/28/19987-Article 5), which was determined and its work. Its responsibilities subsequently amended or supplemented by laws 2742/1999, 3044/2003, 3937/2011 and mutual ministerial desicion 37338/1807/ Ε.103/2010. Its members are not paid for their services and their term lasts three years. The main responsibility of the Commission “Natura 2000” is to control the compliance and effective implementation of the provisions of Directive for these areas (92/43/EEC) as joined into Greek Law for all areas of the Natura 2000 network in the country as well as for the whole of the national territory (beyond the Network Natura 2000). The Commission “Natura 2000” acts as the National Commission of Protected Areas for the coordination, monitoring and evaluation of planning processes, organization and functioning of the National System of Administration and Management (Law 2742/1999, Article 17) exercising a range of competences for this purpose. Furthermore, the Commission writes down, classifies, coordinates, monitors and evaluates the work and the activities of the management bodies, suggests to the ministries the general measures and actions that have to be undertaken for the protection of nature and the sustainable development of the protected areas. It also suggests for allocating of resources for the management bodies to fulfill their purpose (Law 3044/2003).

 

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Protection Areas with Management Bodies 25 Protection Areas were established by Law 3044/2002 (Government Gazette 197/27-8-2002) with a Management Body, that added on two areas that had already been declared as protected, based on Law 1650/1986 and 2742/1999: the National Marine Park of Zakynthos and the National Park –Schinias-Marathon. The Law 3044/2002 includes also maps of the outer limits of each of the 25 protected areas. A mutual Ministerial Decision formed the Boards of the respective Management Bodies, which were staffed later on, by Ministerial Decisions. In order to complete the legal status of protected areas, for each area are also required:

• Four rules and regulations for Management Bodies • An operation and management regulation of protected area

Specifically in Greece, besides the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change, the regulated entities for the environment are: Environment: National Center for Environment and Sustainable Development National Organization for the Alternative Management of Packaging and Other Products Environment & Urban Public Corporation for Housing & Urban Develop Unification of the Archaeological Sites and recast Ktimatologio S.A. Mapping and Cadastral Organization of Greece Organization of Planning and Environmental Protection of Athens Organization of Planning and Environmental Protection of Thessaloniki The Green Fund

Energy Public Gas Corporation S.A. Public Power Corporation S.A. (PPC) Public Power Corporation Renewables S.A. (PPCR) National Natural Gas System Operator S.A. (DESFA) Hellenic Transmission System Operator S.A. Hellenic Petroleum S.A. Institute of Geology and Mineral Exploration Centre for Renewable Energy Sources and Energy Saving Regulator Authority for Energy (RAE) Furthermore, the Secretariat for the Environment and Energy Inspectorate, coordinates and supports all departments at central, regional and local level. Its aim is to implement environmental and energy policy of the country and strengthening of compliance to legislation, in order to achieve both the protection of the environment, with taking timely the appropriate measures for prevention, but also to meet the energy aims and in particular in the field of energy efficiency.

 

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3) CASE STUDIES (APPROACHES, METHODOLOGIES, PRACTICES)

3.1 How parents report their environmental attitudes: a case study from Greece  The research of Harokopio University aims to investigate the approaches that Greek parents use to raise their children’s environmental awareness. The study, conducted via closed-type questionnaires, focused on 435 parents with children attending the last grade of primary school in the greater Athens urban area. The results indicate that parents accept environmental awareness as a particularly important factor in the development of their children’s character. They also claim that their daily actions help to raise their children’s environmental awareness. On the basis of their responses on their daily actions, five groups of parents were identified using cluster analysis. The actions of the groups cover all the ranges, from being strongly consistent to being indifferent. The results also indicate that highly educated, younger, female parents claim more environmentally friendly actions.  3.2 Good Practice Guide from the Commercial and Industrial Chamber of Athens

In the frame of its complex role, the Commercial and Industrial Chamber of Athens is implementing the project “THINK GREEN”, which aims to treat, as far as possible, the environmental impacts (e.g. pollution) from the function of SMEs and enhance the environmental awareness and ecological thinking in middle class entrepreneurs. As part of the project “THING GREEN”, the implementation of the Action: “Program for the environmental awareness of companies, that are members of Commercial and Industrial Chamber of Athens, is provided. Emphasis is given to SMEs and part of the object of this action, is the work that called “Recording the current situation in relation to SMEs and the Environment and Imprinting the presentation of good practices, to minimize the environmental impacts from the operation of SMEs. Thus created the “Good Practice Guide” which aims, beyond the show and promotion of practices that will reduce the environmental impact from the operation of SMEs, to be a source of inspiration and reference for the enterprises of any size and capacity, in order to choose their own way, by adopting a new green sustainable business model, which will relay on the profitability, the growth and the environmental protection.

3.3 Hellenic Biodiesel and Water Glass S.A.

In the factory Hellenic Biodiesel and Water Glass S.A., that is located in the area of Stavrochori Kilkis, a biodiesel plant was created, that invested in new machinery, systems and equipment, in order to work out biomass. The result of this action is the protection of the environment, due to reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the combustion of biodiesel, compared with burning conventional oil, reducing the country’s dependence on imported primary energy, through the diversification of energy supply sources, enhance entrepreneurship, regional development and employment. 3.4 Meditteranean Education Initiative For Environment and Sustainbility

MEdIES is the major educational and training tool of MIO-ECSDE (www.mio-ecsde.org). It is an initiative on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), launched in Johannesburg during the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD, 2002). It is in line with the principles of the UN Decade on ESD (2005-2014) and is being implemented through various educational activities in the Mediterranean countries.

 

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MEdIES aims to facilitate the educational community at large to contribute in a systematic and concrete way to the implementation of Agenda 21, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), as well as the UN Decade for ESD (2005-2014), through the successful application of innovative educational programmes in all countries around the Mediterranean basin. The educational programmes developed by MEdIES so far are based on cross-cutting themes in the existing school-curricula of the countries. Such themes include freshwater, solid wastes, consumption, diet/food, etc. giving emphasis on the methods applied within ESD. Special emphasis is given to the role of students/learners as "messengers for sustainability" to their families and local communities. The exchange and close collaboration of countries of north and south in the Mediterranean allows the development of a methodological framework that could be further implemented in other regions of the world. Main activities of Medles: Educational Materials, Conferences, Trainings, Webpage. http://www.medies.net 3.5 “Green Activities” from Green Networking (GRNET)

Taking into account the fact that energy consumption of the Internet will be one of the main challenges that technology will have to face in the future, GRNET participates actively in several green activities, targeting at:

i. the reduction of the energy consumption in its existing networking and computational infrastructures, ii. the application of novel energy efficient techniques on the deployment of new Data Centers and

Points of Presence (PoPs), iii. the promotion of research in the area of energy-aware techniques design for Internet Service

Providers (ISPs) networking environments, iv. the design and development of novel next generation networking paradigms focusing on the

reduction of energy consumption of the public sector infrastructures in Greece, and v. the dissemination of “green” best practices and the increase of the environmental awareness of the

Greek research and academic community. The above mentioned activities are totally in line with GRNET’s environmental policy and all together synthesize a "green networking" framework for the year by year reduction of GRNET’s total energy consumption as well as its Greenhouse Gas emissions footprint.

3.6 Online store for eco friendly products by sensitized parents

The letsgogreen.gr (www.letsgogreen.gr) is an online store with eco-friendly products from natural materials without bpa and toxic substances, mainly for children, but with items that applied to the whole family. Also, the main product category of letsgogreen.gr are eco toys and innovative environmental education games for children. The team of www.letsgogreen.gr , that consists mainly of worried parents, has been activated over the last year, in prototypes sessions about environmental awareness workshops for children, that are related to the organic waste composting with earthworms and the recycling paper. Through music therapy and theatrical play, children can learn, have fun and be sensitized about the environment… by playing! The basic aims of “letsgogreen” team are: • The correct and valid information for parents, so that

they are able to provide their children with healthy choices, in order to reduce as much as possible their

 

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exposure to toxic and harmful to health products. • The contribution in shaping environmental conscience, through activities for children which promote

environmental awareness, so that kids can learn through the game, to love and respect the environment. 3.7 Create your own solar devices

The Eco-Union in Spain is running workshops on self-built solar devices such as: solar clock, solar battery charger and solar oven. All these devices have been created with recyclable materials and practical terms. The designers have a great responsibility to choose materials that match the creation of schemes. In this workshop participates students from the Design School of Sabadell. During this workshop students think about the entire life cycle of the materials by constructing more sustainable products. 3.8 Fashion Contest Reciclario

In 2007, the Portuguese organization Vertigem and Portuguese youth center Leira developed a plan that was called Reciclario. Reciclario was a fashion contest of created clothes by recycling old materials. The target group of this contest were children and youngsters between 12 to 18 years old. A panel of professionals in the fashion and design industry, youth workers, teachers and trainers for the environment and teachers, rated their original creations. The plan was seperated in the following phases: -fashion parade with creations, with a reward -exhibition of creations, which lasts a few weeks after the contest -hosting school groups in the exhibition with their participation in the recycling workshops. The aim was to show that from old materials, rubber, plastic and other, someone can create objecrts that are in vogue. 3.9 Renaissance:environmental education within the burned forest

The environmental education center of Akratas (Peloponnese, Greece), created an educational program for schools, after the devastating fires, that touched all Greece, in summer 2007. The program was called “Ranaissance” and was implemented within the burned forest. The trainers for the environment invented some games, songs and educational activities (painting with carbon from burnt tree, creating a theatrical play with a burnt forest background). The topic was the revival and regeneration of nature. The program brought in younsters the message of hope and motivation to activate for the environment. 3.10 Eco- awareness/volunteer work

The organization Oekojob.de suggests the creation of a web portal, which will act as a database of volunteer positions for jobs in the environmental field. Specifically: Through the forum eco-jobs.info, someone can participate actively in creating a better world. This gives the ability to someone to found positions for volunteer work, social work and any other occupation on the environment and nature protection in Europe. More than 510 organizations have already signed up and offer various positions. See more info: www.eco-jobs.info   SWOT Analysis of good techniques/practices/methodologies in environmental issues that mentioned above The above mentioned good techniques/practices/methodologies were selected with the following criteria: country implementation, idea/theme of the practice, the purpose of the practice, degree of participation of young people, organizations, parents and the obtained results. By having as a purpose the promotion of

 

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good environmental practices, that have been implemented in Greece, the specification of the search, of those which were related to the national level at first and then to the European level, was possible. The aim of the good practices was to exemplify people and generate new ideas, programs, best practices and cooperation by each EU country and through international cooperation. Best points of above environmental practices: a) the selection of applied practices with successful outcome in the environment b) the selection of practices that were related to the environment and entrepreneurship, youth, parents, green products and volunteerism. As a weak point could be characterized the fact, that some of the practices were implemented a few years ago and there is no information for the continuation or not, of the implementation of each practice. Also, there is no information on whether, each environmental practice that was implemented, resulted in a new collaboration for the dissemination of the results. 4) PROGRAMS 4.1 Youth and Environment: “Green” Skills Development The European Project for Youth Exhange called: “Green” Skills Development, was held with great success in Larisa from 23 to 30 September 2012, and was organized by the Hellenic Organization of the Environment. This project was implemented within the framework of a general effort for wider and more substantial information of the citizens about the environmental issues and involved participants in young ages from Turkey and Greece. Through informal learning young people had the opportunity to exchange ideas, discuss, and participate in workshops, group discussions and presentations using all means of social networking. The main objective of the Hellenic Organization of the Environment is for people to acquire eco-awareness, to adopt friendly practices for the environment and to embrace a particular attitude of life. During the action, youngsters came in contact with the local community in order to understand the environmental challenges and the ways in which the state faces them. This action involved about 10 young people from Greece and 10 young people from Turkey, who exchanged experiences about the environmental challenges that their states are facing. The dialogue and the exchange encouraged the mutual understanding and respect for diversity. Participants both from Greece and from under inclusion in EU Turkey, cultivated their identity as Europeans citizens that are sensitive in environmental issues. 4.2 The value of wasted materials- Leonardo Da Vinci Project

Epimorfotiki Kilkis SM LLc (Vocational Training Center which is located in Kilkis, Greece) participates –as coordinator- within the framework of Leonardo Da Vinci Program in the project entitled “The value of wasted materials”. In the project are also involved institutions for Germany and France. Aims of the project

are: • To discover new methods and instruments for vocational education and training based on

interdisciplinarity that will be used to shape the future professionals in order to evaluate the wasted materials and to be able to find solutions to decrease the energy consumption.

 

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• To realize the transfer of innovative and interdisciplinarity based methods of education from one country to another through international exhibitions, workshops and sessions of scientific communications.

• To create a communication network of educational institutions and organizations that will promote the good practices and the results of the project in order to increase the quality in VET and to stimulate the interest of future professionals in the research of practical solutions, that will reduce the waste in all technical domains. 

Activities included in the frame of the project: Interdisciplinary teachers-students team workshops, International workshops for VET trainers, International scientific communication sessions, International exhibition. The project will give different results/products which will contribute to the implementation of good environmental practices, for creating studies and practical experiments in order to reduce waste and energy consumption, that will lead to the formation of new pedagogical approaches and the use of specialized information material. More information about this project can be found by visiting: http://thevalueofwastedmaterials.blogspot.gr/ & www.epimorfotiki.gr 4.3 European Program “50/50 EUROPEAN NETWORK OF EDUCATION CENTRES” The Prefecture of Heraklion (Crete, Greece) implements activities that promote environmental awareness and energy saving within youngsters, through participating as partner in the European project, entitled: “50/50 EUROPEAN NETWORK OF EDUCATION CENTRES”. The project aims to implement the methodology 50/50 in 50 schools in Europe out of 9 participant countries, by creating a European network of schools for saving energy and fighting climate change. The Prefecture of Heraklion is responsible for coordinating and overseeing the creation of the network of 50 schools, preparing the presentation of the project and methodology of its implementation in the English language, organizing and implementing the project in 4 schools in the Prefecture and organizing and hosting the final international meeting of all partners in 2012. Through this project one promotes the change of thinking in the issue of energy and environment and promotes schools’ actions. The 50/50 European Network of Education Centres project is implemented in places where users don’t pay directly themselves their bills, such as schools. It is believed that schools are the ideal place to promote energy sustainability, ensuring that the future generations consume energy with responsibility, while influencing their families at the same time. The basic idea of the 50/50 project, is that 50% of the saving achieved through energy efficiency measures that are taken by students, isbeing returned as economical benefit. The remaining 50% will be a saving on the accounts for the one paying the bills. As a result everyone wins. The school enhances the applicability of energy consumption, the local authorities have a lower energy cost and society benefits because of the reduction of environmental impact. Based on the experience of Germany (the notion of 50/50 was created in 1994 in Hamburg) a common methodology will be established for each age group and level of education which will be implemented with the support of appropriate teaching materials in selected schools. It is expected that the application of this methodology will result in a slight reduction of 2.5% per year for each school, contributing thus to the objective of reducing greenhouse gases by 20% and reducing energy consumption by 20% by 2020. Schools participating in the project are: the 2nd Elementary School of Archanes, the 40th Elementary School of Heraklion and the 3rd and

 

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10th Heraklion High School. Partners of the project are: Spain, Germany, Italy, Finland, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Hungary and Greece.   4.4 Educational project for children under the auspices of the Ministries of Education of Greece and Cyprus and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1999 the Bank of Cyprus upon completion of 100 years since its establishment, implemented a project called “Oikade”. This educational program was for children. The project is being developed and entirely subsidized since. This project is implemented under the auspices of the Ministries of Education of Greece and Cyprus and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The project aims to bring together Greek children around the world, providing insight and entertainment and nurturing skills that help them meet the needs of the contemporary, social environment. The implementation of “Oikade” is a part of the corporate social responsibility of the Bank of Cyprus. “Oikade” project expresses and implements the vision of the group: “…to be beneficial to the society in which we operate”. http://www.oikade.gr/ 4.5 Comenius Program: EnvKids The Experimental Elementary School of Portaria (Greece) has, within the framework of the Comenius program, the latter being financed by the EU, participated in a pilot project of school cooperation concerning the environment. The project lasted until 2011, and the schools that worked together were from the following European countries: Greece, Czech Republic and France, Norway and Sweden. Focusing on environmental protection, innovative practices for computer use were developed, especially designed for children in that ages, in order to serve the above mentioned schools. The project isn’t only aiming at the development of practices, but also the active participation and guidance of teachers and the development of a network of collaboration among schools. The activities were open-ended and encouraged playful approach and experimentation by the children who participated. Of course, through the use of computers was also promoted the cooperation among the students of the participant schools. The goal pursued through all the above actions was to sensitize children to the environment and more specifically:

• Management of natural resources • Renewable energy • What we can do in our daily lives to protect the environment (eg at home, in the neighbourhood or in

our town) • How we can protect species of animals that are threatened by extinction

Some of the projects’ results were: completion and enrichment of existing programs, promotion of the cooperation among European schools, promotion of the skills of children and teachers in the use of new technologies, application of inquiry-based learning and critical thinking as well as students’ awareness of environmental issues. 5. Existing literature on environmental topics (list of books, articles, with a short description for each listed item) Nentwig, Bacher. Basic concepts of ecology. Athens: Kleidarithmos, 2012. A completed guide, perfectly adapted to the needs of undergraduate teaching of ecology. The book is especially useful to teachers and learners in the directions of Biology, Natural Sciences, Management of Nature and Landscape as well as foresters and agriculturists. The modern, well thought and friendly to the reader layout of the book and also the way of the structure of the text and the recapitulation questions

 

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facilitate the process of learning and the students’ preparation for the exam. The book is enriched with numerous pictures and charts, in order to be easier to use and is also ideal for self-study. The scientific editing of the Greek version was made by Mr. Vasssilis Detsis, assistant professor at the Department of Home Economy and Ecology at Harokopio University. Contents: associations, populations, interactions among different species, communities, ecosystems, formations on Earth, applied ecology. Oikonomou, Agisilaos. Ecological management of buildings, villages and cities in the European Union Eco-Management buildings, settlements and cities in European Union-Environmental Case Studies. Athens: Stamouli A.E., 2010 This book deals with all the requirements of green building and the possibilities for reversing the environmental crisis through the upgrading of the quality of the built environment. The book depicts the destruction of the environment by human actions. It is being emphasized that man, in his attempts to manipulate nature, has disturbed its balance, causing serious and often irreparable harm and damages. The inconsiderate use of natural resources from non-renewable sources, the bad use of waste, the cutting and disappearance of trees and forests, the waste and water pollution, fires and many others, show the extent to which man hasn’t appreciated the value of nature and has failed to show the proper respect to nature, while trying to evolve and prosper. All the above is included in the chapters of the book and works towards trying to highlight the basic issues in environmental and ecological design and the potential for sustainability of buildings, communities and cities. The book addresses itself to researchers who deal with issues concerning natural and built environment. It is also especially useful to professionals and managers of urban issues, local and regional development and environmental reconstruction. Finally, it’s a source of information for citizens, who are becoming gradually very much aware of the protection of natural and structural environment. Goleman, Daniel. Ecological Intellingence: How Radical Transparency Transforms the Marketplace. Athens: Greek Letters, 2009. The author of the best seller “Emotional Intelligence” Mr. Daniel Gkolman deals with the notion that claims that consumers can behave intelligently, and can learn to evaluate in their daily lives the “unknown” and often “hidden” environmental impact of products they buy or generally use. In “Ecological Intelligence” he examines how someone can be intelligent- that is to adopt a non-harmful behavior- in terms with the planet. At the beginning the book describes Goleman’s conversations as part of his personal research with experts of industrial ecology, a new scientific domain, that analyzes the environmental impacts of the construction of the products, and their use up to their final disposal.Then it investigates the reasons, why such information is usually kept from the general public and supports the logic of “radical transparency” on behalf of the companies. According to surveys that have been carried out, as the author suggests, the emotional reactions of consumers to any negative effects on the planet by not producing ecological products, may in fact affect sales. Papakonstantinou, Konstantina. Health and Safety at work, environmental protection. Athens: Rosili, 2007. This book deals systematically with the factors that affect the safety and health of workers in their working environment. Control measures that have to be taken in order to eliminate these risks are also indicated. Through developing a methodology of producing a survey on assessing occupational hazards, the book consitutes a useful guide to recording dangers in every workplace and most importantly, it provides a model example of implementation. The book is based on current literature, international standards, and on the most recent national and European legislation. At the same time it presents the methodology for identifying and recording the environmental risks in a business while providing an important methodological tool of analysis and evaluation of the risk involved, through a model example of implementation.

 

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“Possibilities and potential for remodelling programs. Suggestions for a new organizational form”, Athens 1990, p.167 Only in recent years has in Greece begun to appear a certain concern by public bodies regarding the adoption of appropriate measures for the housing policy, while institutional and financial potential to implement complete remodelling programs is very limited. This research proposes the creation of a hierarchical structure of organizational patterns and finance mechanisms to enable better coordination, management and funding of recast projects in underdeveloped areas, where the main use was or remains the residence. The monitoring and implementation of these programs- which primarily relate to compact central areas of block of flats, areas of refugee homes, tenement areas, central areas of historical character and regions with arbitary buildings- is anticipated to be conducted mainly by local authorities. Lolas, Vasileios. “ Environmental Consiousness is Business Responsibility”. SCIENTIFIC MARKETING MANAGEMENT. 1st Aug.2006.SCIENTIFIC MARKETING MANAGEMENT. 10 Dec.2012 <http://www.epistimonikomarketing.gr/>. The purpose of this article is to understand that environmental consciousness is part of the responsibilities of businesses. An example is the action of the company of Coca-Cola 3E of Greece which implements relevant envrionmental actions. It is said that the real respect towards the environment and the recognition of corporate responsibility for the protection of the environment is a primary concern of Coca-Cola 3E of Greece. Aiming at continuously implementing high environmental standards and minimizing any potential impact on the environment, the Company applies in all its production units, a series of integrated environmental management principles in their daily operation. The company’s environmental policy not only implements all necessary state regulations, but it also takes all appropriate measures, a fact which is easily supported by the certification of all factory units with the Environmental Management System, according to Standard ISO 14001. Furthermore, Coca-Cola 3E of Greece belongs since 1992 among one of the 39 Greek manufacturing and commercial enterprises that founded and supported the Hellenic Recovery Recycling Corporation (HE.R.R.Co.) The aim of Hellenic Recovery Recycling Corporation is the practical use and recycling of packaging waste, the detection of methods to minimize environmental impact caused by discarded packaging and the contribution to a more complete and rational management. Furthermore, the Company invests in Education and Cultivation of Volunteering and Environmental Awareness of its employees.

 

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BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERANCES

1. Bartl, A. & Bartl, M. (1999). Environmental Games.Athens. Korfi. 2. Burnie D. (1994). Dictionary fort the nature. Researchers. 3. Chauvel. D, Chauvel, P. (1998). Pedagogic and Environment.Discovery, understanding and artistic

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