The free flow and protection of Aoos river offer great advantages for Greece

Triggered by the catastrophic impact of cyclone “Ianos”, an opinion peace by Alexandra Pappa, Program Manager at The Mediterranean Institute for Nature and Anthropos (MedINA) and Ioli Christopoulou on the importance of protection and conservation of one of the last free-flow rivers in Europe.

Aoos river springs from Metsovo in Greece, flows through Albania into the Adriatic. It is, to date, a well-preserved river with great significance for biodiversity conservation and the provision of ecosystem services. As such it can serve as a model for the restoration of other rivers in Europe.

By protecting Aoos river as one of the last free-flow rivers in Europe, Greece has the chance not only to protect this important river but also to implement the new European Biodiversity Strategy, which sets nature restoration as one of its central objectives. A first necessary step towards this is to ensure full protection of the river Aoos and its tributaries. Greece has the chance to be a pioneer, but will it seize it?

The article titled “Aoos river leads Greece to the forefront of Europe” was published (in Greek) in HuffPost Greece on 22.09.2020:

Ο ποταμός Αώος οδηγεί την Ελλάδα στην πρωτοπορία της Ευρώπης