This publication includes the presentations from the webinar which was held by ELLINIKI ETAIREIA -Society for the Environment and Cultural Heritage about the “Five Southern Aegean Islands” listed among the “7 Most Endangered” heritage sites in Europe for 2021. The islands are: Amorgos, Kimolos, Kithira, Sikinos and Tinos (four of which are part of the Cycladic complex).
The webinar was structured in three parts/sessions:In the first session of the webinar, the importancen of preserving cultural and natural landscapes was highlighted. Τhe multi-layered landscape of the islands, admired by people from all over the world, is now in grave danger due to the Greek government encouraging its transformation into an industrial zone of wind parks with huge wind turbines that will diminish the landscape’s environmental and cultural value and place at risk the livelihood of many communities. Furthermore, in this session the international principles for safeguarding the natural and cultural landscapes were mentioned. Additionally, a more extensive reference was made to the concept of the cultural landscape, explaining it as a bridge between space, society, culture and the environment.
The second section of the webinar was about the impact of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) on cultural and natural landscapes. Regarding the impact on culture, reference was made to the deterioration of the image of archeological sites and traditional settlements.
In the third section, references have been made for the tools to achieve cultural heritage conservation and protection of the environment through the green transition. Finally, institutional issues have been analyzed and the extent to which the current legislation protects the cultural and natural landscape of the islands.
