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Author: Johnson, William (1988)
The Mediterranean monk seal has been classified as one of the twelve most endangered animals in the world. Much loved by the ancient Greeks, in more recent years its habitat has experienced steadily increasing destruction. Urban growth, industrial poisons, mass tourism and overfishing have all taken their toll on this shy and reclusive creature. It has found its last refuge in the Eastern Aegean, a region where the hostile powers of Greece and Turkey confront each other across a few kilometres of sea.
For three years in the 1980s, William Johnson headed an international project to save the critically-endangered Mediterranean monk seal by creating a network of sanctuaries in the Eastern Aegean. But after increasing harassment by the Greek security forces, he was expelled from the country, branded as a 'spy'. The focus of his story, however, is not just a personal battle with a kafkaesque bureaucracy: it is why the Greek government and international conservation organisations are allowing the monk seal to slip silently into extinction…
In recounting his story, Johnson takes us to the lush Eastern Aegean island of Samos, into the headquarters of the Greek intelligence services, into confidential meetings of the world’s most influential conservation organisations… Vividly-described episodes, both comical and poignant, describe the fight to save Europe’s most endangered marine mammal and its polluted, tourist-jammed habitat.
Author: Johnson, William (1988)
The Mediterranean monk seal has been classified as one of the twelve most endangered animals in the world. Much loved by the ancient Greeks, in more recent years its habitat has experienced steadily increasing destruction. Urban growth, industrial poisons, mass tourism and overfishing have all taken their toll on this shy and reclusive creature. It has found its last refuge in the Eastern Aegean, a region where the hostile powers of Greece and Turkey confront each other across a few kilometres of sea.
For three years in the 1980s, William Johnson headed an international project to save the critically-endangered Mediterranean monk seal by creating a network of sanctuaries in the Eastern Aegean. But after increasing harassment by the Greek security forces, he was expelled from the country, branded as a 'spy'. The focus of his story, however, is not just a personal battle with a kafkaesque bureaucracy: it is why the Greek government and international conservation organisations are allowing the monk seal to slip silently into extinction…
In recounting his story, Johnson takes us to the lush Eastern Aegean island of Samos, into the headquarters of the Greek intelligence services, into confidential meetings of the world’s most influential conservation organisations… Vividly-described episodes, both comical and poignant, describe the fight to save Europe’s most endangered marine mammal and its polluted, tourist-jammed habitat.