Wetlands and forest with a flora and fauna of international importance in Northeastern Greece

Due to Mediterranean, continental and oceanic influences we find in Northeastern Greece an exceptionally rich flora and fauna. Distributed over a distance of only 60–70 km from sea level northward to the Rhodopi mountains (with very cold and snowy winters at a height of 1000 m to 1600 m near the Bulgarian border) emerges a complex sequence of biozones unparalleled in a comparably small area in Europe. The low population density and the poor development of industry has allowed some natural landscapes to remain relatively undisturbed. The wetlands, including lake Kerkini and lake Vistonis as well as the deltas of the rivers Nestos and Evros, are a home or hibernating place for a large avifauna that includes vanishing bird species. In the oak‐ and beech‐forests of Rhodopi mountains, unusually rich in flowers, e.g. orchids, most of the large European mammals, including bear, wolf and wild boar, as well as birds of prey still find a basis for living. Pollution and damming of waters, erosion, cutting of riparian forests and overgrazing by domesticated animals are among other serious threats to the whole area. Problems, tasks and possibilities for protecting these zones of extraordinary quality are to be discussed along with an ecodevelopment concept for the whole region.