Protection of the
Kalloni Wetlands
[news
item April 2002]
Because of strong
public support, the Kalloni wetlands have been listed as 26 out of
over 200 in order of priority for the implementation of Natura 2000.
From the Mayor of Kalloni we received a valuable document on
the implementation of the Plan to save the Wetlands [click
to download an English translation of this document in Word format,
file size 28KB]. We hope to make this
document available in Greek in the planned Greek section of the
site.
The land around the Gulf is divided into 3 zones: the red
zone comprising the coastal marshes; a yellow zone outside of this and
a green zone outside of the yellow zone. In the red zone there is
total protection. No building or any activity other than traditional
grazing will be permitted. To prevent habitat destruction from
over-grazing, goats will not be allowed. In the yellow zone only
agricultural building connected with traditional agricultural activity
is allowed. In the green zone development is permitted but subject to
controls on density of development, the materials to be used and the
height and size of buildings so as to conserve the traditional
appearance of the area. Most of the red zone is already public land
but in some places it impinges for a few metres on private
property.
In our view the
plan is a good one. One problem, which we discussed with the Mayor of
Kalloni, concerned activity in the period before the zoning controls
are implemented. The reclamation through dumping of part of Parakoila
Marsh mentioned in the previous news bulletin is already complete.
This was apparently legal at the time that it was done but no building
would be permitted on the site. Of more immediate concern is the
dumping of building rubble and soil just to the east of the Parakoila
Marsh on some very fine quality old wet pasture. The intention is
probably to build on the site before the zoning controls were
implemented. The Mayor’s office was aware of the problem and was
looking into ways of stopping it. Dumping of building rubble remains a
serious problem also at the head of the Gulf of Kalloni around the
Salt Works. Another problem is the time-frame for implementation, which
is a long one. In
addition, the plan concerns only the Gulf of Kalloni and not other
environmentally sensitive areas, such as Sigri-Faneromeni and the Gulf
of Gera.
Our view is that
conflict with land-owners affected by the controls could be largely
overcome by the implementation of a scheme under the EC
Environmentally Friendly Farming initiative which would allow farmers
to be compensated for any financial losses that the might suffer from
protecting the environment. This would help also to create enthusiasm
for the Natura 2000 project and help to prevent the problem of
over-grazing. We have
offered to work with local authorities to get this program in motion.