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Divers off Greece’s Alonissos raise alarm over seabed pollution
STORY: The Greek island of Alonissos in the eastern Aegean Sea is a popular tourist destination and home to Europe’s largest protected marine park.But beneath the surface of its blue waters lies a growing threat: marine pollution.Volunteer divers recently uncovered plastic bottles, tires, and rusted debris littering the seabed.It’s a small glimpse into the tens of thousands of tons polluting the Mediterranean each year.:: THIS EARTHUPSOT: “I’m really proud of this team because it’s a civil society movement.”George Sarelakos is president of Greece-based agency Aegean Rebreath which organized the two-day EU-funded cleanup.:: George Sarelakos, President of Aegean Rebreath“Civil society can achieve everything. People all over the globe should know that we have the strength to change things. We really believe in the individual responsibility of people. We invest in this, and we’re happy to share our experiences with other movements of people who want to make a difference at the local level.”:: Alonissos, GreeceEstablished in the early 1990s, the Alonissos marine park is home to one of the world’s last remaining colonies of monk seals, as well as over 300 fish species, dolphins, and sea turtles.Its existence has made both locals and tourists increasingly aware of the risks of marine pollution, said Theodora Francis, one of the divers who joined the two-day initiative.:: Theodora Francis, Volunteer diver“We visited five, four areas to check whether we find rubbish in those areas. In most of those areas we didn’t find because Alonissos is a very green island and is a part of the marine park. But in some areas we did find rubbish which is in the main port in Votsi where most of the traveling and tourism and fishermen activities is happening.”To protect its coastal biodiversity, Greece will create two new marine parks in the Aegean and Ionian Seas as part of 21 initiatives worth 780 million euros which is about 887 million dollars.It will also expand marine protected areas to cover 30% of its territorial waters by 2030, and has submitted plans to the EU outlining how it will organize fishing, tourism, and offshore energy.Francis believes Alonissos can serve as a model for protecting the seas.“Take care of the place where your community lives, because this is just one community here. If every island had the same interest in taking care of its environment, we would see the Alonissos situation on many more islands.”
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