Land-zoning plan under fire
Environmental protection groups and the Technical Chamber of Greece (TEE) yesterday staged a joint press conference calling for the withdrawal of a proposed «land-zoning» plan that would allow the construction of tourism complexes in many unspoilt parts of the country. «This will result in the concretization of our beaches, as construction firms will make easy profits selling holiday homes,» said Yiannis Palaiokrassas, vice president of the Association for the Protection of the Environment and Cultural Heritage. The association presented a petition signed by 40 university professors and and 200 European environmental protection groups calling for the withdrawal of the proposed plan, which offers contractors favorable terms for building up to 50 meters from the coastline in some parts of the country. The petition’s main message is «Not another Spain,» in reference to the rampant development that has ruined much of the Mediterranean country’s coastline and which, environmentalists fear, will be applied in Greece. Protesters chiefly object to a provision allowing the construction of large tourism complexes comprising apartments for long-term lease or sale. They are also opposed to plans to create water-guzzling golf courses in 15 prefectures while much of the country is on alert for water shortages this summer. The groups were backed by TEE, which objects to the lack of restrictions in the proposed plan. «The concept of saturation is not mentioned anywhere,» said TEE representative Rania Kloutsinioti. TEE criticized the government for drafting separate zoning plans for tourism and alternative energy sources instead of a general, comprehensive zoning plan. «Once again, we are doing things backward,» Kloutsinioti said. Environmentalists said they do not oppose tourism development per se but unlimited construction which will destroy the very assets Greece seeks to promote to tourists. «We are destroying our competitive edge, which is our natural environment,» said Dimitris Karavellas, president of WWF Hellas.
