Jeep adventures threaten protected sand dunes
The beaches of the Kotychi-Strofylia Wetlands National Park along the coastal zone of the northwest Peloponnese are transformed into a track for four-wheel drive vehicles every weekend, threatening the protected sand dunes and coastal vegetation.
According to reports, locals with farm vehicles and visitors with jeeps drive through these areas to experience the adventure, oblivious to the damage being caused to the environment.
Moreover, certain unmarked jeeps appear repeatedly but with different passengers, a clear indication that they are being rented out to tourists by a local business.
Eyewitnesses have reported frequently seeing dozens of cars at the beaches of Kalogria, Samaraiika, Falari and Kounoupelaki – especially on weekends.
Kathimerini understands that the Natural Environment and Climate Change Organization (NECCA), responsible for protected areas, is aware of the situation, and that its local chapter wrote last year to the prosecutor, the police and the coast guard asking for their intervention, but to no avail.
