The beauty of the Greek Natura 2000 areas in 40 impressive photos

A brown bear with its cubs emerging from the bushes, a fisherman surrounded by pelicans on the lake of Kastoria, or flamingos in the lagoon of Kleisova in Messolonghi, a bee-eater eating, and a long-eared owl looking at the camera rather oddly.

These are just some of the highlights from the “Click in Nature” photo contest.

WWF Hellas and “Photografos” Magazine invited the public to photograph and highlight the beauty of the most ecologically valuable areas of Greece: the Natura 2000 sites. The result was impressive.

A total of 1,071 professional and amateur photographers responded, submitting 7,937 photos to the competition! Photos that depict not only the vast natural wealth of our country, but also the importance of Natura 2000 protected areas for hundreds of species of plants and animals, as well as for dozens of different types of habitats in need of protection.

The work of the members of the Jury of the competition was certainly not easy. However, they chose the 40 best photos, through which we can make a photographic trip to some of the 446 Natura 2000 areas of Greece.

In the category of professional photographers, the 1st prize was awarded to Kyrillos Samaras, the 2nd prize to Markos Houzouris and the 3rd prize to Nikos Koutras, while 17 more entries received honorary commendation. In the category of amateur photographers, 5 awards were given to Argyris Karamouzas (1st place), Alexandros Malapetsas (2nd place), Georgios Karkalis (3rd place), Sotiris Zapantiotis (4th place) and Christos Perdikomatis (5th place), while 15 participants also got honorary mentions.

You can see the photos that stood out in the exhibition HERE.

The Natura 2000 network Greece

The European Natura 2000 network is the largest network of protected areas in the world. In our country it extends to 446 areas, protecting 299 species of plants and animals, 147 species of birds and 89 different types of habitats.

The Natura 2000 network is the most valuable tool at our disposal for the preservation of our natural heritage, while acting as a framework for achieving the necessary balance between nature protection and human activities.