Management Agency of Dodecanese Protected Areas

The Management Agency of Dodecanese Protected Areas Protected Area was formally established in 2002 and is currently based in Olympos municipality. Its operational structure became fully effective on March 2007, when all necessary scientific and administrative personnel were employed. The main activities of the Management Agency include:
 
- The protection and management of the Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus local population and its habitat;
- The protection of terrestrial, coastal and marine biotopes and ecotopes of Mediterranean and European interest, as well as the preservation of fish stocks and the marine natural environment;
- The awareness and sensitisation of the public;
- The environmental education, the planning and implementation of environmental policy;
- The conservation of all important elements of the natural and cultural environment of the wider area of Karpathos.

Aiming at the awareness and sensitisation of the public, the Management Agency has established an information centre at the port of Diafani, in which visitors and local inhabitants can be informed on all exceptional characteristics of the area. The centre hosts an extensive photographic exhibition of rare and endemic plant and animal species present in the protected area, of traditional villages, of archaeological sites, as well as of all components and characteristics that have established Northern Karpathos and Saria as an important ecological and cultural area in Europe.

The Management Agency is utilising the speed boat «SARIA» for patrolling the marine zones of the Protected Area, but also to conduct small scale research activities. «SARIA» has been purchased by the Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk Seal (MOm), an environmental non governmental organisation, in the framework of a LIFE Nature project.

A key goal of the Management Agency of Dodecanese Protected Areas is the promotion of awareness and sensitisation of the younger generation in the area, focusing on issues of preservation and conservation of the protected area. The main aim of the latter is the establishment of responsible attitudes towards friendly environmental behaviour. Numerous educational activities (such as theatrical plays, board games etc), as well as rich environmental education material are utilised by the Management Agency in its information centre but also in the field, to educate and inspire the local youngsters on the importance of their home island and its natural and cultural environment.