Status: ON-GOING

Project Duration: October 2024- March 2025

 

Challenge

Saros Bay and its surrounding areas face multiple environmental threats, including illegal fishing, water pollution, human impacts, invasive species, coastal infrastructure development, and climate change effects. Despite legal protection, these areas need more effective on-the-ground conservation efforts.  

Solution

This project follows the “A Cultural Landscapes Based Assessment” project, which initially aimed at profiling the Aegean marine and coastal ecosystems, focusing on sustainable small-scale fisheries. The project identified Saros Bay SEPA as a priority area for conservation and restoration, emphasizing the need for immediate action based on comprehensive environmental, socio-economic, and spatial data. 

 

Project’s deliverables

• This follow-up project will develop a detailed Conservation and Restoration Action Plan for Saros Bay SEPA by integrating environmental, cultural, socio-economic, and spatial factors into conservation strategies. The plan will align with international frameworks such as the SDGs, GBF, and the UN Decade of Ocean Science, contributing insights to global biodiversity efforts while addressing specific local conservation needs.  
• Additionally, the project aims to mobilise conservation funding for large-scale projects, engage and empower communities—especially women and youth—in sustainable practices, and foster partnerships with academic institutions, governmental bodies, and NGOs to enhance the project’s impact. Public awareness about the region’s biodiversity and the importance of sustainable small fisheries and land & sea use systems will also be increased. 

 

About the organisation:

Established in 2015, Yolda focuses on biodiversity conservation and sustainable land and sea use through research, advocacy, communications, and collaborations. It follows the cultural landscapes and seascapes/socio-ecological production landscapes approaches, aiming for long-term, large-scale impacts like increased biodiversity, improved food security, and resilient local livelihoods.