
Posidonia meadows should be recognized as one of the key natural ecosystems that play a critical part in maintaining the health and productivity of Greece’s natural marine and coastal environment. In accepting our collective responsibility we can protect these meadows and develop solutions that will reverse the trend of their degradation.
Anastasia Miliou for Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation
Research and action for the protection of the Posidonia oceanica meadows, has been one of the main areas of focus for the “Archipelagos” Institute of Marine Conservation, for the past 15 years. In collaboration with the United Nations Regional Office for the Mediterranean (UNEP/MAP SPA/RAC) and the Department of Biology of the University of West of England, Bristol, we are creating detailed maps of the exact location, extent, and condition of protected ecosystems like this, using state-of-the-art technology. This way we contribute to filling significant knowledge gaps regarding these habitats in the Greek seas. At the same time, in collaboration with the Department of Biology of the University of Essex, UK, for the past 3 years we have been implementing experimental planting of seagrass meadows, while also using logger-based systems to record and quantify the ability of the Aegean Sea’s Posidonia beds to uptake carbon.