The engagement strategy of the primary stakeholder identification analysis
presented above will aim at the engagement of the stakeholders at different levels
using a number of fora in order to integrate their input within the project. The three
key stakeholder types, as identified in the analysis above, were interviewed in order
to validate the presented outcomes, while tourists were interviewed in regard with
their awareness and willingness to pay for the transition into higher quality and more
sustainable ecosystems. Lastly, a participatory workshop, which took place at the
end of the project, aimed at bringing together core actors related to the plastic
pollution in these areas in order to exchange views on the potential solutions.
9.3.2 Survey and Conclusions
The analysis of the questionnaire responses from the three locations in Greece
(Piraeus, Milos, Andros) highlighted findings that are relevant to the wider range
of stakeholders related to marine litter, such as policy makers at national and regional
levels, entrepreneurs of the tourist sector, tourists and researchers.
As a first finding, most of the respondents understand that the natural environment is at crisis, and this is caused mainly by anthropogenic factors. Human
intervention is perceived to have had bad consequences at the environmental ecosystems, while most of the participants in the survey mentioned that humans do not
have the right to modify the natural environment based on their own needs, which
after all is one of the basic notions of environmental sustainability.
In contrast to the above, the survey revealed that even though a level of environmental awareness exists, in some cases this is considered to be superficial. Around
one fourth of the participants do not understand core environmental problems and
therefore cannot be engaged in further actions, either during their vacations (i.e. stop
using single-use plastics at the beach) or in their home country. On top of that, most
of the respondents mentioned that they are not aware of the Plastics Directive
(European Parliament 2019). This finding indicates a gap in engaging in education
and information of the public, while it is consistent with findings from the
AdaptInGR project (LIFE-IP AdaptInGR 2019), which identified that 22% of
Greek respondents were “a little” or “not at all” informed about climate change.
It was also evident that the participants could not identify the importance of
sustainability and its potential links to environmental and economic systems. A
striking example is that a significant number of people were not aware of the extent
of the marine plastic pollution and its detrimental effects on the marine ecosystems.
That gap was evident across almost all questions asked. For example, many of the
participants did not consider the natural environment as part of their own living
niche. In fact, the analysis showed that they were willing to pay (WTP) more for a
clean hotel room but less for a cleaner/greener ecosystem. It is obvious that despite
acknowledging the importance of sound environmental management, these respondents could not understand how environmental degradation could affect them and
therefore considered it as a problem related to the wider society. Most of them were
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presented above will aim at the engagement of the stakeholders at different levels
using a number of fora in order to integrate their input within the project. The three
key stakeholder types, as identified in the analysis above, were interviewed in order
to validate the presented outcomes, while tourists were interviewed in regard with
their awareness and willingness to pay for the transition into higher quality and more
sustainable ecosystems. Lastly, a participatory workshop, which took place at the
end of the project, aimed at bringing together core actors related to the plastic
pollution in these areas in order to exchange views on the potential solutions.
9.3.2 Survey and Conclusions
The analysis of the questionnaire responses from the three locations in Greece
(Piraeus, Milos, Andros) highlighted findings that are relevant to the wider range
of stakeholders related to marine litter, such as policy makers at national and regional
levels, entrepreneurs of the tourist sector, tourists and researchers.
As a first finding, most of the respondents understand that the natural environment is at crisis, and this is caused mainly by anthropogenic factors. Human
intervention is perceived to have had bad consequences at the environmental ecosystems, while most of the participants in the survey mentioned that humans do not
have the right to modify the natural environment based on their own needs, which
after all is one of the basic notions of environmental sustainability.
In contrast to the above, the survey revealed that even though a level of environmental awareness exists, in some cases this is considered to be superficial. Around
one fourth of the participants do not understand core environmental problems and
therefore cannot be engaged in further actions, either during their vacations (i.e. stop
using single-use plastics at the beach) or in their home country. On top of that, most
of the respondents mentioned that they are not aware of the Plastics Directive
(European Parliament 2019). This finding indicates a gap in engaging in education
and information of the public, while it is consistent with findings from the
AdaptInGR project (LIFE-IP AdaptInGR 2019), which identified that 22% of
Greek respondents were “a little” or “not at all” informed about climate change.
It was also evident that the participants could not identify the importance of
sustainability and its potential links to environmental and economic systems. A
striking example is that a significant number of people were not aware of the extent
of the marine plastic pollution and its detrimental effects on the marine ecosystems.
That gap was evident across almost all questions asked. For example, many of the
participants did not consider the natural environment as part of their own living
niche. In fact, the analysis showed that they were willing to pay (WTP) more for a
clean hotel room but less for a cleaner/greener ecosystem. It is obvious that despite
acknowledging the importance of sound environmental management, these respondents could not understand how environmental degradation could affect them and
therefore considered it as a problem related to the wider society. Most of them were
142
P. Koundouri et al.