Evaluation of Operational Projects Supported by Cohesion Funds for the National Forest Parks of Greece

Abstract

National forest parks (NFP) represent protected areas playing a critical role in reversing biodiversity loss and contributing to sustainable development in Greece. However, the NFPs of Greece lack funding. A common way to support the NFPs is through EU funds. The Cohesion Fund (CF) is a European structural and investment fund that was implemented by the EU during the 2014–2020 period for the ‘Natura 2000’ regions. The scope of this research is to figure out the number of assigned projects and payments that were funded by the CF for this period; which planning expenditure target was mostly proposed; and to assess the progress of CF absorption. The data were categorized into two groups, group 2019 and group 2020, and a regression analysis was conducted. The results can provide a model of fund programming in order to achieve a higher absorption rate of CFs.

Keywords

• regional development
• Cohesion Fund
• Natura 2000
• national forest parks