ECOCLUB Greece™ - Ειδήσεις και Απόψεις για τον Ελληνικό Τουρισμό

The Evros Delta and Dadia National Park Management Unit announced the death of a Eurasian black vulture (Aegypius monachus), a near-threatened species, after a collision with a wind turbine within a Natura 2000 protected area in the Filiouri Valley. The dead vulture, had been marked in 2018 as a chick and also carried a transmitter. According to Sylvia Zakkak, a biologist working at the Unit, the incident proves the inadequacy of automated collision prevention systems of wind farms. In addition, such systems may displace bird populations. What is certain is that the installation of wind turbines close to important bird areas is a bad idea.

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Federation of Lefkadian Associations Press ConferenceThe Federation held a press conference in Athens to express its opposition to, and coordinate action against, Lefkada Municipality plans to privatize areas adjacent to the Santa Maura Castle and the old cooperative TAOL winery. The Municipality's ultimate goal is to facilitate the construction of a five-star hotel. The Federation points out that the plans are incompatible with the character and the existing archaeological, environmental and spatial planning designations of the area.

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Photo by Pandemia on FlickrEnvironment Minister Hatzidakis had visited Chrysi Island in June 2020 and talked of a "shameful sight" promising action. This summer limits have been set on the number of tourists taking day trips to the uninhabited 5 sq. km sandy Chrysi (Golden) island 15km south of Ierapetra, Crete. In addition daily visitors are not allowed to venture in the interior of the island so as to allow the Cretan juniper (Juniperus macrocarpa) forest, protected under the EU Natura 2000 scheme, to recover. The island is a declared archeological site and also has shell fossils. Twenty arbitrary constructions were demolished in mid-May 2022, however, according to the Chrysi Action Plan & Monitoring Committee, illegal wells, dirt roads, use of 4WD vehicles, water pipelines, trading (beach bars) and camping activities are still "raging" on the island. The municipality of Ierapetra has protested that the protection measures are "out of reality".

For one more summer (June 1 to August 31, 2022) it will be illegal for everyone including hoteliers to refill resort swimming pools due to water scarcity on the island. The ban was first introduced in 2018 and also prohibits refill by water trucks arriving from other places. A EUR 10k fine applies. Why does an island with magnificent beaches need so many swimming pools anyway?

SearchCulture.gr is a new Greek aggregator for cultural content and national provider for Europeana, the EU cultural portal. A growing collection currently amounting to 800k items from 76 institutions, ranging from museums to municipalities, includes archaeological items, historical documents and manuscripts, items of material culture, works of art, cartographic material, books and intangible heritage resources. The digital files are primarily photographs and other images, pdfs, 3D models and audiovisual material. Digital content is licensed by the owning institutions with open Creative Commons or other licenses, in accordance with any restrictions imposed by copyright and protection of cultural heritage legislation. 

High seasonality is a characteristic of Greek Tourism, especially in island destinations, and the norm is for hotel employees to be made redundant at the end of September and rehired when hotels reopen, usually on Easter. However, two Zante hotels owned by a large US investment management company, did not want to rehire (or pay) around 200 employees earlier than the 10th of June using the pretext of being shut for renovations and a five-star upgrade. After a one month strike and local support, and despite a new law that allows hoteliers not to pay employees during renovations, the hotel workers succeeded in signing a sectoral collective bargaining agreement so that they can be employed from May 10 to October 31.

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PavlopetriThe Municipality of Elafonissos announced that the first underwater routes at Pavlopetri have been demarcated with underwater signs and the 5,000 year old site is open to swimmers.  Pavlopetri (Paul's Stone), discovered in 1967, and one of the oldest submerged lost cities in the world, sunk following a series of earthquakes around 1,000 BCE. The works were funded by the European Union's INHERIT-MED programme. 

Commenting on the controversial decision by the Rhodes Municipal Council to investigate solutions, including hunting and sterilization, to the problem of the "Platoni" deer (Dama dama) overpopulation which destroys crops and causes around 20 road accidents annually,  Vice-Minister Giorgos Amyras emphatically stated that "deer hunting will not be allowed on Rhodes". Instead, special barriers will be installed in the worst affected areas in southern Rhodes. An estimated 5,000 deer, an icon of Rhodes with a deer statue standing where the Colossus once did in the town harbour, are estimated to live on the island. The Rhodes deer is considered native to the Island, the Balkan peninsula and Turkey, with the island being called "Elafousa" (or Deer island) in ancient times, while fossils go back to the neolithic period. Another theory is that it was (re)introduced by the Knights of St. John in the middle ages but a 2006 study found that it is smaller and genetically distinct from other populations and in need of "urgent" conservation and management. In sharp contrast, the Mayor had proposed allowing licensed hunters to cull about 150 deer per annum! 

The 204-megawatt solar park features two-sided solar modules and covers a total area of 1,821 hectares near the northern Greek town of Kozani. It will supply enough power for 75,000 households and save around 300 mt of CO2. It was 75% funded by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, built by ELPE, Greece's biggest oil refiner, using PV modules by China's JinkoSolar and commissioned by German energy developer Juwi. The development is part of the planned de-lignitization of Western Macedonia.