The necessity of political will in fungal conservation: the case of Greece

The need for conservation of fungi in Europe has arisen after it was found in several countries that hundreds of fungal species have become extinct. Although Greece is located at the southernmost end of Europe in the Eastern Mediterranean, in a climatic zone characterized by long periods of drought, its mycota appear quite rich and unique. In recent years, Greek and also foreign companies have been picking enormous quantities of edible mushrooms from restricted geographical regions on a commercial level. There is no legislation as yet to monitor this new activity and to certify the mushrooms that are consumed by the public. After studying this situation, a technical committee submitted a proposal in 2007 for legislation to be introduced in order to protect the public from possible mushroom poisoning and also to regulate mushroom picking in an effort to conserve the fungal biodiversity. Sadly, the proposal has not been forwarded accordingly, the reason being “it was opposed by commercial interests”. It is concluded that in addition to having an integrated and sound scientific proposal on the subject, political will is also necessary