Last updated: October 2021
A restructuring of the National Park of Athens is being done from the last few years to revitalize one of the tourists' attractions in the city. The restructuring is mainly focused on the conservation of animal species found in the park. The project also aims to transform the park into a meeting point for culture and sports as well as activities including workshops, yoga, pilates, music, theater, tours and educational games for kids (Ref 7). The park contains a duck pond and a small zoo. In addition to this, it opened a botanical museum and a library for children for educational purposes (Ref 1,2,3). The project was planned to carry out in two stages. In the first stage, Athens will tender a 2.9 million euros upgrade of the infrastructures, and a study that is budgeted at 370,000 euros for the restoration of the Garden’s zoological park, botanical museum, the famed Roman mosaic area, and restoration of the Herod Atticus wall. The second stage concerns restoration of the Garden’s flora and removal of damaged shrubbery (Ref 6).
The National Park of Athens
Source: https://greekreporter.com/2010/10/21/national-garden-of-athens-deemed-historical-landmark/
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Parks and urban forests
- Large urban parks or forests
- Blue infrastructure
- Lakes/ponds
Key challenges
- Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
- Climate change mitigation
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Habitat and biodiversity restoration
- Habitat and biodiversity conservation
- Environmental quality
- Air quality improvement
- Noise reduction
- Health and well-being (SDG 3)
- Enabling opportunities for physical activity
- Improving physical health
- Creation of opportunities for recreation
- Cultural heritage and cultural diversity
- Preservation of natural heritage
- Protection of historic and cultural landscape/infrastructure
Focus
Creation of semi-natural blue areas, Maintenance and management of urban nature, Monitoring and maintenance of habitats and/or biodiversity
Project objectives
The main goal of the intervention is to maintain the biodiversity of the area. The park Management Constitution (or management mandate) incorporated saving and restoring the natural history attributes to make this park a living monument in Athens. The project aims to transform the park into a meeting point for culture and sports as well as happenings and activities including workshops, yoga, pilates, music, theatre and tours (Ref 7). This will help the park to be the centre of the cities cultural hub. The park also aims to provide education to students on biodiversity. It also aims to serve as a research base for the students studying biodiversity. The other goal is to contribute to the city's carbon sequestration and maintain air quality (Ref 1,2).
Implementation activities
The authority of the National Garden incorporated new plants and taking measures to protect the diversity. The duck pond in the garden has been constructed from the beginning to provide a good habitat for the species present there. They also started the educational activities for students and opened a new library for children. The new botanical museum is making contracts with the universities for conducting research on the species present in the park (Ref 1,2). The Mayor of the city also presented his plan for increasing public engagement and cultural activities like workshops, yoga, music and theatre (Ref 7).
Climate-focused activities
Climate change mitigation:
- Improve carbon sequestration through selection of more adaptable species
Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities
Biodiversity conservation:
- Protect species
- Undertake specific measures to protect valued species
- Means for conservation governance
- Public engagement
- Create and use scientific knowledge for conservation
Biodiversity restoration:
- Restore valued species
- Public engagement
Main beneficiaries
- Local government/Municipality
- Researchers/University
- Citizens or community groups
- Young people and children
Governance
Management set-up
- Government-led
Type of initiating organisation
- Local government/municipality
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Dissemination of information and education
- Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)
- Citizen monitoring and review
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
The restructuring was initiated by Athens Municipality and the local administrative and management bodies of the park (Ref 1, 6, 7).
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a national policy or strategy?
Yes
(o In 2014 Greece adopted its National Biodiversity Strategy, which officially refers to ecosystem services.
o National Operational Program “Environment – Sustainable Development 2007 – 2013”, which included a specific section on the “Protection of natural environment and biodiversity”.
)
... a local policy or strategy?
Unknown
Financing
Total cost
€2,000,000 - €4,000,000
Source(s) of funding
- Public local authority budget
Type of funding
- Earmarked public budget
Non-financial contribution
Type of non-financial contribution
- Provision of land
- Provision of goods
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
- Public authorities (e.g. land, utility services)
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Climate change
- Enhanced carbon sequestration
- Environmental quality
- Improved air quality
- Reduced noise exposure
- Green space and habitat
- Increased number of protection areas
- Reduced biodiversity loss
- Increased number of species present
Economic impacts
- More sustainable tourism
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Improved social cohesion
- Improved access to urban green space
- Increased opportunities for social interaction
- Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
- Health and wellbeing
- Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Cultural heritage and sense of place
- Improvement in people’s connection to nature
- Protection of historic and cultural landscape / infrastructure
- Increased sense of place identity, memory and belonging
- Increased awareness of flora and fauna as culturally and historically meaningful
- Education
- Increased support for education and scientific research
Type of reported impacts
Expected impacts, Achieved impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
References
1. The National Gardens of Athens (no date) National Garden. Source link the Greek island reporter. Available at: Source link. Accessed on 12th July, 2020.
2. The National Gardens of Athens (2012) Athens Nature Journal. Available at: Source link. Accessed on 12th July, 2020.
3. The National Gardens, Athens (2020) The Wikipedia, free Encyclopedia. Available at: Source link. Accessed on 12th July, 2020.
4. The National Garden (no date) Top 10 of Athens. The City Guide. Available at: Source link. Accessed on 12th July, 2020.
5. The Garden of Athens (no date) The city of Athens. Available at: Source link. Accessed on 12th July 2020.
6. Makris. A. (2010) National Garden of Athens deemed historical landmark. Greekreporter. Available at: Source link. Accessed on 4th July, 2020.
7. GTP editing teams (2018). Athens National Garden to be restored back to beauty. Greek Travel Pages. Available at: Source link. Accessed on 4th July, 2020.
2. The National Gardens of Athens (2012) Athens Nature Journal. Available at: Source link. Accessed on 12th July, 2020.
3. The National Gardens, Athens (2020) The Wikipedia, free Encyclopedia. Available at: Source link. Accessed on 12th July, 2020.
4. The National Garden (no date) Top 10 of Athens. The City Guide. Available at: Source link. Accessed on 12th July, 2020.
5. The Garden of Athens (no date) The city of Athens. Available at: Source link. Accessed on 12th July 2020.
6. Makris. A. (2010) National Garden of Athens deemed historical landmark. Greekreporter. Available at: Source link. Accessed on 4th July, 2020.
7. GTP editing teams (2018). Athens National Garden to be restored back to beauty. Greek Travel Pages. Available at: Source link. Accessed on 4th July, 2020.
The National Park of Athens
Source: https://greekreporter.com/2010/10/21/national-garden-of-athens-deemed-historical-landmark/
The National Park of Athens
Source: http://www.greece-athens.com/place.php?place_id=109.