연합
The Holy Community, governing issues that affect all monasteries, consists of representatives of all 20 local monasteries. Such matters include the opening of roads for vehicle access. 게다가, each monastery has the legal responsibility for self-management. A state governor is responsible for security matters and compliance with Greek laws. To expand the knowledge of the mitigation of the potential threats, close collaboration is sought with scientific institutions and public services. In August 2013, an integrated study was presented together with the Greek Ministries of Culture and Environment and the World Heritage Centre.

보호 도구
With World Heritage advice and management planning under way, several case studies yield insights in the ways to conduct responsible management of the peninsula. A monitoring system helps divide the tasks and responsibilities among the communities and the monks. For the sustainable management of Holm Oak and Hungarian Oak forests, a demonstration area was planted, serving as a study area for Mediterranean Oak forests in general.

결과
The study ‘Rehabilitation of slopes along the forest road network in Mt. Athos’ (Dafis, 1999) was an important first result of the allegiance between monks and earth scientists. It was concluded that vegetation establishment had been successful on low height slopes, but that restorative interventions would benefit vegetation on slopes higher than 5 metres. It also recommended not felling any mature trees, even if close to a road. It featured guidelines for road construction while minimizing the impact, which have subsequently been followed with visible results. A second study (Dafis and Kakouros, 2006) yielded the recommendation that Holm Oak thinning reduces wildfire risk, and enhances species diversity. At the study sites, new, widely applicable ecological insights are gathered to date.