WWF – Natura 2000 – Click on Nature: Photos from Greek nature in the competition

Images of unique beauty from the fauna and flora of our country, given to us by the photo contest “Natura 2000 – Click in Nature”.

Nature is full of surprises and their capture is always fascinating, especially Greek nature with its many beauties. The results of the second pan-Hellenic photography competition “Natura 2000- Click in nature” not only did they show in the best way the Natura 2000 areas of our country, but they gave us very high level photographic snapshots.

WWF Hellas and the Photographer Magazine, in collaboration with the partners of the LIFE-IP 4 NATURA project, invited the public for the second consecutive year to photograph and highlight the beauty of the most ecologically valuable areas of Greece: the Natura 2000 sites. The response of the photographic community was impressive, as professional and amateur photographers responded with great warmth and showed their sensitivity in matters of environmental protection, 1,500 photos.

Through the photographic lens we saw the treasures hidden by nature and admired dozens of species of incomparable beauty. Silver pelican on the lake of Kerkini, palm fly in the Amvrakikos gulf, lionfish in the Aegean, whitefish in the forest of Dadia, horses in Pindos, but also descent to a cave in Ymittos, fishing on Lake Kastoria, ascent to Mount Mainalo through the 40 photos uploaded by the jury.

In this year’s competition there were four categories – man and nature, birds, animals and plants, landscape – and in each of them three big winners emerged and seven photos that received praise. More specifically, in the category “Man and Nature” the 1st prize was awarded to Vassilis Drakopoulos, the 2nd prize to Genovefa Nestramiotis and the 3rd prize to Christos Pantazis. In the “Birds” category, the 1st prize was awarded to Vassilis Theodoridis, the 2nd prize to Panagiotis Xaxiris and the 3rd prize to Miltiadis Kourboglou. In the category “Animals and Plants” the 1st prize was awarded to Georgios Karkalis, the 2nd to Giannis Sapnos and the 3rd to Natasa Triantafyllou. Finally, in the “Landscape” category, the 1st prize was awarded to Panos Laskarakis, the 2nd to Fotis Kafetsis and the 3rd to Thanasis Liapis.

The Natura 2000 network in our country

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

The LIFE-IP 4 NATURA Project is the most important project of the last decades for the protection of nature in Greece. Twelve partners (Ministry of Environment and Energy, University of Patras, Democritus University of Thrace, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, WWF Greece, Hellenic Ornithological Society, Region of Crete, Region of Eastern Macedonia & Thrace, Region of Attica, Attica Environment and Climate Change), under the coordination of RIS, join forces by designing new tools of protection and management and highlighting the opportunities offered by the harmonious coexistence of man with his natural environment. The project is co-financed by the European Union LIFE program and the Green Fund. More information: edozoume.gr