Earth Hour 2025 in Greece is dedicated to the sea and is scheduled to be held on Saturday, March 22, from 8:30 pm until 9:30 pm.
“The sea is our home, our history, our survival and our summers”
In the largest global participatory campaign of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) that started in 2007, attractions, important monuments, organizations and businesses around the world will participate.
According to the WWF Hellas announcement, “the sea is our home, our history, our survival and our summers. It is home to unique species such as the sperm whale, the Caretta Caretta turtle and the Mediterranean seals. Beaches and tourist destinations for every taste, underwater routes, sea voyages, and Greek fishermen who have kept the thread of our tradition alive for centuries. This is just a taste of the rich mosaic of the Greek sea.”
WWF also recalls that “2024 was the warmest year ever recorded globally, with the consequences of climate change now becoming apparent on life and natural ecosystems.”
In this context, WWF calls on all citizens to “remember the enormous value that the sea and its precious resources have for our lives, to be informed about the threats faced by the marine ecosystem, but also to actively contribute to the protection of our seas.”
Specifically, in view of this year’s “Earth Hour”, citizens can take a few minutes to:
Learn about our Marine Protected Areas
The main tool for protecting life in the Mediterranean is Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). The benefits that arise from their proper management are not limited to the natural environment. On the contrary, they concern and affect human well-being in many ways. However, it is estimated that only 1.3% of the marine surface covered by MPAs in Greece has a management plan. Moreover, even in cases where legal protection measures have been established, their implementation and enforcement are very often insufficient and incomplete.
Protect the Blue Forests of the Mediterranean
Posidonia meadows offer invaluable benefits to the environment and humans, while they have managed to survive all the changes and extreme climatic conditions from the time of the dinosaurs to the present day. But will they be able to withstand modern man? The main threats facing Posidonia meadows are warming seas, pollution, coastal development and anthropogenic changes to the coastline. The very slow rate of growth and natural restoration of Posidonia endangers the natural ability of the meadow to recover.