Irresponsible parking on beaches and protected areas is unfortunately a common phenomenon in Greece. The Voidokilia area could not be an exception to that, as thousands of cars had turned the area into a large parking lot.
In mid-2021, the intervention of Aegean Rebreath -with the support of Nescafé- aimed not only at protecting the area but also at extracting conclusions that could be used to address similar occurrences. In this respect, we undertook the demarcation of sand dunes and the placement of signs regarding the environmental value of the area. The results speak for themselves: within 2.5 years, the footprint of vehicles in the area has been minimized, as, according to our calculations, more than 29,000 cars did not enter the protected zone. During these years, continuous efforts were required from our team that, among others, had to confront unacceptable practices from ignorant visitors.
Despite the difficulties, the fact that this intervention has provided essential results can only be satisfying to us. However, this undergoing change in approach will also require the activation of local authorities for the sustainability of the project. So, we will work towards this direction in order to further leverage on this effort.
*Our warmest thanks to Mr. Kostas Teneketzis, Environmental Researcher, for his help and contribution to monitoring the area and extracting the data.
