N A T U R E

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N A T U R E

• Diversity around us
• 2nd meeting in Kramfors, Sweden

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National Parks in Greece

• Greeces climate is divided into three classes
  A Mediterranean climate (mild winters and dry
  summers), an Alpine climate and a temperate
  climate (cold winters and hot summers).

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• Such climatic and biological diversity, along
  with the rich flora and fauna that comes with it,
  made the need for the creation of national parks
  as early as 1937. In 1938 the first national park
  in Greece was established, the Mount Olympus
  National Park.

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Alonissos Marine Park

• The National Marine Park of Alonissos was
  founded by Presidential decree in 1992. The steep
  rocky slopes which run down to the sea and the
  caves are an important part of the habitat of the
  monk seal.

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• The Mediterranean monk seal (monachus-monachus)
  is believed to be the worlds rarest and one of
  the most endangered mammals of the world.
• A Biological Station was created on the island
  to support scientific activities related to the
  study of the monk seal and in general the
  ecosystem within the park.

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• Several causes have provoked a dramatic
  population decrease over the time mostly
  commercial hunting and during the 20th century
  eradication by fishermen, who used to consider it
  a pest, due to the damages the seal causes to
  fishing nets, while preying on fishes caught in
  those.

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• Preservation efforts gave been put forth by
  civil organizations, foundations and universities
  since as early as the 1970s. For the past 10
  years, many groups have carried out missions to
  educate locals on damage control and species
  preservation.

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• Permitted activities
• There are specific restrictions on amateur
  fishing. Hunting is strictly forbidden in the
  entire Zone A. The entire area of Zone B is open
  to visits but free camping and lighting of fires
  are out of the question.

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• The Mediterranean Monk Seals grow from
  approximately 80cm long at birth to an average of
  2.40m in adults. The latter weigh up to 320 kg,
  the females being slightly smaller than the
  males. They feed on fish and mollusks, primarily
  octopus, up to 3 kg per day.

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The National Park of Samaria

• The Samaria Gorge is a National Park on the
  island of Crete, one of the major tourist
  attractions of the island. It was created by a
  small river running between the White Mountains
  and Mount Volakias. It is 18km long.

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• The most famous part of the Gorge is the section
  known as the Iron Gates, where the sides of the
  gorge close to about four meters in width and
  reach up to 500 meters high. The village of
  Samaria was abandoned by the last remaining
  inhabitants in 1962 to make way for the park.

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• The Gorge became a national park in 1962,
  particularly as a refuge for the rare kri-kri
  (Cretan goat). It has a light brownish coat with
  a darker band around its neck. It has two horns
  swept back from the head. In the wild they are
  shy and rest during the day. They avoid tourists
  and can leap some distance or climb seemingly
  sheer cliffs.

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• By 1960 the kri-kri was under threat with
  numbers below 200. It had been the only meat
  available to mountain guerillas during the German
  occupation in World War II. Its status was one of
  the reasons for the Samaria Gorge becoming a
  National Park.

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• There are still only 2000 animals on the island
  and they are considered vulnerable. Hunters still
  seek them for their tender meat, grazing grounds
  have become more scarce and disease has affected
  them. Hybridization is also a threat, as their
  gene pool is mingled with ordinary goats. Hunting
  there is strictly prohibited.

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• Greece enjoys a unique climate, which is
  severely threatened by the indifference and the
  negligence of its inhabitants. Air and water
  pollution, heat waves, fires and litter are the
  most important problems Greeks have to face
  before it is too late.

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Fires in Greece

• They are common during hot dry summers,
  especially in August, when the major winds
  continue to fuel the fires making the problem
  even larger. Last year was a scorching summer
  with 175 fires raging across the country on the
  same day.

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No land registry

• Greece has no land registry, so once a region
  has been burnt and cleared, there is no
  definitive proof of whether it was initially
  forest, farm or field. Every year the government
  issues a reward of up to a million euros for
  information on any arsonist. But

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• Anti-terrorist authorities insist that setting
  fires is one possible motive for unscrupulous
  property developers, who are hoping to move in on
  the areas where forest has been destroyed.
  Building on forest land is forbidden in Greece,
  but circumventing the law by disputing the areas
  status is not so difficult

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Litter in Greece

• Weak zoning laws, careless farmers and
  smouldering garbage dumps are the main reasons
  for the fires that kill people and destroy whole
  rural economies. Litter in the countryside is a
  growing menace. We have turned our green forests
  into dull and cold places.

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Garbage on beach in Greece

• A non-profit organization known in Greece as
  Clean Greece based in Athens and active since
  1993 in an effort to clean some of the beaches.

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Lack of responsibility

• The problem of litter reflects a lack of
  responsibility on all sides, local government,
  citizens, police, courts. Such antisocial
  behaviors lead to spaces been degraded and to
  societies making strides backward.

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Heat waves in Greece

• Though not welcomed

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• Prolonged periods of excessive heat and humidity
  with high temperatures reaching in some regions
  44C make living conditions unbearable especially
  in areas where the air pollution level is high.

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• A group of heat-stricken pigeons gathered at the
  shadow of a palm tree in Athens.

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Water shortage in our area

• The agricultural drought is by most people
  associated with extreme heat. Extended dry
  periods and general lack of rainfall result in a
  lack of moisture in the root zone of the soil.
  This severely damages the plants that live in the
  area.

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• Cotton is the main agricultural product of
  Karditsa and its cultivation requires a long
  frost-free period, plenty of sunshine and
  rainfall. Cotton is a thirsty crop and, as water
  resources get tighter, economies that rely on it
  face difficulties.

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• In areas with less rainfall water is obtained
  from irrigation. Thats why in 1928 Nikolaos
  Plastiras envisioned the construction of a dam
  and the plateau of Nevropolis at an altitude of
  1000 meters was turned into an artificial lake
  forming a landscape of unrivalled beauty and
  charm.

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• The dam is a bow shaped-construction 83 meters
  high and 200 meters long. Its construction was of
  vital importance, as it provided a permanent
  solution to the water supply needs of the people
  of Karditsa and covered the irrigation needs for
  a large segment of the plain.

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• The fir forests in the area are unique in
  Greece. Tacked around the lake all villages are
  worth a visit. The view from the village of
  Neochori, where we are going to have coffee when
  you visit us in a next meeting, is breath-taking.

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• 1st Lyceum of
  Karditsa,
• Greece, March 2008
• Music by M.Hadjidakis