Bonn, 1 June 2023 - The UNEP/AEWA Secretariat is pleased to announce the accession of Greece as AEWA’s 84th Party with the country’s membership of the Agreement taking effect on 1 June 2023.

Greece lies on the Aegean migratory route, which is one of the most important bird migration flyways in the African-Eurasian flyway. The country hosts a wide range of migratory waterbird species, of which 147 populations are listed under AEWA, including populations of iconic species such as the Greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus), Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus), and various species of herons, egrets, and storks.

The Prespa Lakes, the Evros Delta or the Kerkini Lake can be named as some of the most significant wetlands in Greece that are essential habitats, stopover and breeding grounds for a variety of migratory waterbirds.

Greece is one the AEWA range states which participated at the negotiation meeting of the Agreement in June 1995 in The Hague and signed the final formal act of the meeting. Greece is also a Party to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) since 1999.

With Greece joining AEWA as a Contracting Party on 1 June, a total of 83 countries plus the European Union have signed the environmental treaty, which has a geographic range covering 119 countries across Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, Greenland and the Canadian Archipelago. 

The UNEP/AEWA Secretariat, on behalf of the Parties to the Agreement, warmly welcomes Greece to the AEWA Family and looks forward to working closely with the Government of Greece as well as other national stakeholders to support conservation efforts for the benefit of migratory waterbirds and their habitats. 

The depositary notification No. 03/2023 of 3 March 2023 on the accession of Greece to AEWA is available online at https://repository.overheid.nl/frbr/vd/007342/1/pdf/007342_Notificaties_60.pdf