THE STATE OF THE GREEK ENVIRONMENT IN RECENT YEARS

This paper is an overview of the environmental situation in Greece in recent years: air, noise, water, soil, nature conservation, and the ma rine environment. The survey covers the whole country; large towns, th e provinces, and enclosed seas. Available evidence indicates that the quality of the air, land, and water environment over the Greek region has deteriorated significantly during the past 10 years. The urban env ironments of Athens, Thessaloniki and other towns are subject to press ure from rapidly growing populations, increasing traffic, industrial e xpansion and uncontrolled development, and have become seriously degra ded. The rapid and unplanned growth of the tourist industry has alread y resulted in damage to the natural environment, repercussions on the man-made environment, and disruption of the sociocultural environment. Air, water, and soil pollution, noise, sewage, oil, increasing desert ification, water shortage, widespread and serious degradation of the m aquis, forest fires, and nature conservation, appear to be the major p roblems. Recently compiled physical and chemical data and other availa ble information on air, fresh water, soil, and sea pollution are repor ted. Nature conservation and fauna-flora extinction in Greece are also discussed.