Small islands in Greece are especially vulnerable to natural disasters and that is why the 14th Small Islands Conference that was held in Ithaca last weekend (Sept 30-Oct 2nd) focused mainly on responding and strengthening resilience to the climate crisis and its impacts in these areas.
The Conference was organised by the Hellenic Network of Small Islands, the Municipality of Ithaca, the Secretariat General for the Aegean and Island Policy and the Prefecture of the Ionian Islands.
Christos Stylianidis, Minister for Climate Crisis and Civil Protection of the Hellenic Republic represented the Prime Minister at the Conference and presented in detail the new fire & flood protection pilot programme for Ithaca (Ionian Sea) and Skopelos (Aegean Sea).
We are thankful to the Mayor of Ithaca, Dionysis Stanitsas, for inviting us to present our 2-year cleanup efforts during which we removed 101 tonnes of fishing gear -mostly derived from an abandoned aquaculture (ghost farm)- and other marine litter from several spots around the island.
During our presentation and on the Conference sidelines, we had the opportunity to refer to the land part of the abandonded aquaculture that still remains a threat for the local community and environment since the next extreme weather phenomenon can cause the tonnes of industrial debris that are left there to end up in the sea, just like 2 years ago with Cyclone Ianos.
We are hoping to work together with the Greek government and fish farming industry in the future to put an end to ghost farms and their devastating impact to local communities, maritime traffic and the environment.
