Bern Convention

Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats

This complaint was submitted in 1986 by MEDASSET – the Mediterranean Association to Save the Sea Turtles and supported by Archelon - Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece on the protection of the Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) in Laganas Bay on the island of Zakynthos.

Laganas Bay is a site of major ecological interest, especially because of its relatively well-preserved dunes and as one of the main breeding grounds for the Loggerhead sea turtle in the Mediterranean. According to the complainants, the sites' sea turtle population has fallen dramatically in the last fifty years, mainly as a result of damage done to the nesting beaches by tourist development and due to collisions or by-catch of fishermen.

This case file was on the agenda for fourteen Standing Committee meetings between 1986 and 1999, was closed when it was deemed that the European Commission was taking a strong position on the case, and then reopened in 2020. In 1987, the Committee adopted Recommendation No. 9 (1987) and Recommendation No. 7 (1987) including measures such as the adequate legal protection or appropriate assistance for protection to the main nesting beaches for marine turtles, enforcement of the conservation measures where they exist, and the avoidance of any new touristic or other development in important nesting areas. At its 19th meeting in December 1999, the Standing Committee decided to close the file, since the case had been referred to the European Court of Justice.

Another lawsuit has been filed in 2019 against Greece, the object of the lawsuit being the failure to establish, for 239 Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) - including Laganas Bay - the necessary conservation objectives and measures corresponding to the ecological requirements of the natural habitat types and of the species in the sites, thus compromising the integrity of the Natura 2000 network. The lawsuit is still ongoing, and the Case-file was reopened by the Standing Committee in 2020.

At the 43rd Standing Committee in 2023, following a couple of years of talks with stakeholders of the concerned Mediterannean countries, a Guidance Tool on Conservation of sea turtles nesting sites was endorsed by the Standing Committee.

 Key Timeline

• 1986 - Case registration
• 1987 - OSA and Recommendation No. 7 and No. 9
• c1987 - Opening of Case
• 1999 - Closing of Case
• 2020 - Re-Opening of case-file

 Other international organisations involved

• European Commission
• European Court of Justice

 Documents

 OSA report and recommendation

Regular reports to the Bureau and/or Standing Committee

Please note that all reports received by a Party during one calendar year are included in one single report for that year. Some older reports are not available in digital form.

Other information / documents