The Ramsar convention (L.D. 191/1974), that was adopted in 1971 and came into force in 1975, is the only world wide treaty that deals exclusively with a single ecosystem. It was formed by countries and non-governmental organisations that realised the importance of freshwater habitats and refused to see their decline escalate. The convention’s mission statement is as follows:

“the conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local and national actions and international cooperation, as a contribution towards achieving sustainable development throughout the world.”

This convention led to other such polices being implemented in regards to freshwater habitats and their supporting organisms. The European Birds Directive (79/409 EEC Directive) was created in 1979 to protect birds that are under the protection of the Bonn and Bern Conventions (both of which were adopted in 1979). Many birds use freshwater ecosystems for breeding grounds and thus the areas needed to be protected. The Directive on the Conservation of Habitats, Wildlife and Native Flora, collectively called the EC Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC Directive), which came into force in 1992, insures that the Member States take measures to restore natural habitats and protect their wildlife. The EC Habitats Directive includes a variety of freshwater ecosystems as its target habitats, many of which can be found across the Greek islands.

Despite these directives and numerous other smaller conservation plans, many of the freshwater ecosystems within the Greek islands are still under threat. These big directives will only be truly efficient if proper scientific research is carried out in these places and the importance of these locations becomes common knowledge. Archipelagos, the Institute for Marine and Environmental Research of the Aegean Seas (alternatively known as Archipelagos IMERAS) is a non-governmental organisation which is currently trying to do this on the Aegean islands of Ikaria and Samos.

Archipelagos Actions

In the Aegean islands freshwater habitats are fairly uncommon. However on the island of Ikaria several water courses are present. The majority of the rivers flow from south to north and three of the largest on the west side of the island (Halaris, Harakas and Myrsonas) originate from the mountain plateaus of Erifi and Ammoudia.

Archipelagos IMERAS has actively been studying these unique freshwater ecosystems. Studies have been carried out to look at the flora and fauna of these three rivers especially. Each river is equally important and extensive studies have been carried out to ascertain what species are present and what actions could be implemented to help protect the ecosystem.

The Halaris River (a NATURA 2000 site) that runs into Nas has been studied intensively since the spring of 2002. The outcome of all these studies was to produce a ‘Special Environmental Assessment Study’, the application of which will ensure the sustainable management of the Valley. Following this, with the help of Archipelagos volunteers, a plan for the cleaning and restoration of the area was implemented. This primarily involved the removal of the plastic pipes that are used to illegally pump water for crop irrigation.

Posters and leaflets have been created in order to inform people of the importance of freshwater ecosystems on the island and the reasons in which they are being damaged. Further educational material is still being created for both schools and the local communities so that they learn to value of these areas. Archipelagos implements field courses and environmental lessons to show Ikarian students and international graduates the significance of these beautiful ecosystems.

Read about the Associated Species and Conservation Threats