A Visionary Greek Island Community

A few of the unique features inherent in a successful team invariably involve compatibility, mutual respect and shared values among the team members. These features abound among the community members of Korthi on Andros Island.

Korthi Mayor Ioannis Glynos and the Korthi Municipal Council have initiated, implemented and supported actions for the environmental well-being of its community, which, in turn, have created employment thus contributing to the health and socio-economic well-being of the community. The Korthi Mayor has been dedicated to the principle of guiding the community to undertake complementary environmental conservation actions in its terrestrial and marine areas. The results of these efforts during the past several years are now becoming increasingly visible and the benefits are beginning to take effect on land and in the surrounding sea.

A few examples of the Korthi Municipality’s recent work include: (1) the establishment of the Korthi Environmental Education Centre under the auspices of the Hellenic Education Ministry for the benefit of resident and non-resident Hellenic students as well as concerned adults to teach environmental conservation, including the methods and benefits of organic farming, renewable energy sources, sustainable water management and conservation; (2) Korthi Municipal participation as a Founding Member of the Hellenic Daphne Program established for the sustainable development of the Greek islands, including action programs such as the development of a sustainable water management program in co-operation with the National Technical University of Athens; (3) the tenure of Korthi Mayor Ioannis Glynos as President of the Environmental Committee of the Cyclades Union of Municipalities; (4) the active engagement in and promotion of the establishment of alternative energy sources in the Municipality with the cooperation of the private and public sector. [In this context, the Korthi Municipality has organized public awareness events, including a recent conference entitled “Traditional and Modern Methods of Energy Production and Use from Windmills to Wind Turbines”]; (5) the current installation of a new underground sewer system connected to a sewage treatment facility which replaces the previous untreated sewage system that evacuated directly into the sea; (6) the current establishment of a recycling management system from the recycling consumer source through the processing of recycled materials; (7) the completion of a Municipal-commissioned study and current efforts to achieve the scientifically recommended establishment of the Dipotamata River region as a protected area to protect the natural and cultural environment possessing threatened species/habitat types as well as historic watermills and to conduct educational activities concerning environmental management and protection; (8) the dedication of a two-story portion of an existing Korthi Municipal building, subject to current rehabilitation, to the establishment of a permanent Northern Cyclades Marine Conservation Center and the headquarters of the new, Korthi-based environmental conservation NGO entitled BLUEnature.eu, a non-profit association being established with the support of the Municipality for the conservation of the northern Cyclades marine area and development of a sustainable fisheries industry; (9) the operation of a scientific research and training facility with 2 laboratories and an amphitheater in Korthi Municipality managed by the Athens Polytechnic School for alternative energy sources, “bio-architecture”, and atmospheric physics; (10) logistical and political support to the Korthi-based President of the Fishermen's Union of the Southern Aegean in the achievement of the Union aims to conserve the northern Cyclades marine environment for the development of sustainable fisheries measures and (11) the development of supplemental resources to enforce fishing regulations in the marine area to obviate illegal fishing.

In 2008, Mayor Glynos and the Korthi Municipality supported the idea generated by the 1,200+ member Fishermen’s Union of the Southern Aegean to actively rehabilitate and preserve the northern Cycladic marine area and develop a sustainable fisheries industry. The Union President requested that I move to Andros, plan and coordinate the marine conservation area project which has been named BLUEnature. Mayor Glynos arranged and participated in meetings with Hellenic Deputy Environment Minister Stavros Kaloyannis, Deputy Mercantile Marine Minister Panos Kammenos, and northern Cycladic municipal mayors to promote the BLUEnature movement. Mayor Glynos was accompanied in these meetings by Fishermen’s Union of the Southern Aegean President Dimitri Zannes, who is based in Korthi, and Konstantinos Mentzelopoulos who was requested by the Union to plan and coordinate the BLUEnature movement for the conservation of the northern Cycladic marine area. These meetings resulted in the offer of support from the Mercantile Marine and Environment Ministries and eleven northern Cycladic communities for the aims and proposed actions of the BLUEnature movement.

Greece is not reputed for environmental conservation action for the preservation of its beautiful landscapes and resource-rich marine environments. On the contrary, the nation has gained unfortunate notoriety for both illegal and over-development. It is lagging behind other EU countries in the implementation of desperately needed measures to reduce pollution that affects the planet given that the Greek seas and air that circulates around us are unwitting conduits of harmful elements.

It is against this national backdrop of environmental inaction and public indifference that the Korthi Municipality shines like a beacon of light in the midst of a dark fog in guiding others to the preservation of our natural heritage; however, without the support of a visionary community, the municipality’s environmental advancements would not have been possible nor would the BLUEnature conservation movement be proceeding “full speed ahead”.

Konstantinos Mentzelopoulos