The TV show with motor vehicles moving on the protected dunes of Elafonisos, aired in prime-time on 7 decmeber 2020, caused a very negative impression all over Greece.

The affected area is home to European priority habitats and endangered endemic plants. According to Greek and EU legislation, the off-road movement of motor vehicles in ecologically sensitive areas, such as the shorelines, sand dunes, and EU priority habitats, is prohibited outright.

For the HSPN, which has been working on protected areas, environmental education and awareness-raising for 70 years, the negative and counterproductive message of such an action is just as serious as the ecological and legal aspects of the case. It can lead to a repetition of such actions, it shows an utter lack of education and empathy, it descredits the concept of protected areas, and it embarasses us as a country.

The HSPN asks the State at all levels to take immediate measures for the enforcement of the law and for the effective protection of the Greek nature.

The HSPN also asks Greek society to embrace efforts for the protection and promotion of greek nature, and to turn its back on anti-social and anti-environmental attitudes.