Greek Chapter of ARCH International 2.67

We, the members of the Greek Chapter of ARCH, promote the well-being of Vatika Bay, the preservation of the unique archeological site of Pavlopetri submerged in the Bay, and the preservation of the marine environment that surrounds it.

Pavlopetri dates from Minoan times, over 5000 years ago. Archeologists have determined that it is the oldest underwater city in the world. It is a unique treasure. Pavlopetri is important not only to local people, but it is part of the cultural heritage of the entire world.

It is our privilege to live near Pavlopetri. We have the opportunity – and the responsibility – to make sure that Pavlopetri is not damaged, or destroyed.

However, the scientists who have studied Pavlopetri have told us that Pavlopetri is being damaged by three problems: shifting sediments on the bottom of the Bay, the stealing of objects that belong to the archeological site, and, foremost, pollution.

Shifting sediments damage the foundations and walls of the buildings at Pavlopetri. It is important to keep boats from traveling over the site. Buoys marking the site as off-limits to boats may keep boats, with engines and propellers that churn the water and sediment, away from the site, as well as preventing pleasure boats from anchoring in Pavlopetri itself.

The theft of artifacts may be reduced by posting signs around the area of Pavlopetri on land to inform locals and visitors of the importance of the site and telling them not to pick up artifacts. We also need brochures that we can give to locals and visitors to educate them about the history of Pavlopetri and the importance of safe-guarding the site.

The foremost threat to Pavlopetri is pollution. Pollution in Vatika Bay may come from two major sources: sewage leaking into the Bay from septic systems and the large commercial ships that anchor in the Bay.

We are pleased to note that the Municipality of Monemvasia is already addressing the issue of sewage in the Bay by installing a waste treatment system for all of Neapolis.

The second problem is more persistent. Over the past several years, local citizens have tried their best to put an end to the pollution that is caused by the large commercial ships that anchor in Vatika Bay.

Lobby Billinis, the editor of Ta Vatika, has published numerous articles on this subject. Last October, twelve local citizens filed an official complaint with the Special Representative for the Environment. Unfortunately, they received no response to their complaint.

The large commercial ships that anchor here, some for weeks at a time, may pollute the water of Vatika Bay in several ways. They may dump their waste matter directly into the Bay. They may also dump their ballast water, which has the serious side effect of introducing non-endemic species of plants and animals into the Bay.

The ships may engage in even more serious practices, such as having their hulls and propellers cleaned These are extremely polluting practices that are legally allowed in only a few ports in the world because of the damage they cause to the water and because of the toxic chemicals that remain in the sediments on the marine floor.

The video presentation on hull cleaning posted on this page shows what could happen in Vatika Bay if hull cleaning ever takes place here.

The foundations of the buildings at Pavlopetri, the tombs and the artifacts in the water are not the only things being damaged by the large ships anchoring in the Bay.

In Vatika Bay, there are meadows of Poseidonia oceanica, a sea grass that is protected by the European Union. It is extremely important to the functioning of the marine
ecosystem. During its process of photosynthesis, Poseidonia releases oxygen into the water. Several hundred species of marine animals live in the Poseidonia meadows, relying on the oxygen Poseidonia manufactures.

Unfortunately, a survey of the seabed of Vatika Bay, done by the Hellenic Center for Marine Research in 2010, shows that the anchors from the large ships are dredging wide furrows in the sea bed as they drag along the bottom. The anchors tear through the Poseidonia meadows.

Poseidonia lives a very long time, but it grows very, very slowly. A colony of Poseidonia expands at the rate of only one centimeter a year. A dragging anchor can rip up hundreds of years of growth of Poseidonia in a few minutes.

In the Poseidonia meadows, one can see fan mussels growing. When the meadows are damaged, the fan mussels’ habitat is destroyed. Fan mussels are another species protected by the European Union.

The most imminent danger to Pavlopetri is a Special Port Regulation that would allow large commercial ships to anchor legally in Vatika Bay. This regulation, we have learned, will not be a law that must pass through the Parliament and receive public scrutiny. It will be enacted by Ministerial Decision of the Ministry of Shipping and the Aegean.

Such a regulation, in all likelihood, would violate numerous national and international laws: laws that protect archeological sites, antiquities and cultural heritage; anti-pollution laws; laws that protect certain species of plants and animals; and laws that protect the overall marine environment.

To protect Pavlopetri, we must work to prevent the passage of this Special Port Regulation. We must focus international media on the damage that the large ships already cause to the unique site of Pavlopetri and to the plants and animals in Vatika Bay.

As the Greek Chapter of ARCH, we have written letters of protest to all the Greek Ministers that are concerned with Pavlopetri and Vatika Bay: the Minister of the Environment, Energy and Climate Change; the Minister of Culture and Sport; the Minister of Tourism; the Minister of Rural Development and Food; as well as the Minister of Shipping and the Aegean.

ARCH International will also write letters to each of the Ministers protesting enactment of the Special Port Regulation.

We invite everyone to join the Greek Chapter of ARCH. There is no membership fee. If you wish to join the Greek Chapter of ARCH, post a message to that effect on this page. If you give us your email address, we will add you to our membership list for special updates.

We need everyone who is concerned to get involved. This might mean posting information on a facebook page or sending instagrams about these issues to all your friends.

If the rest of the world finds out what is happening to the oldest underwater city in the world, we will be successful in protecting Pavlopetri and making it possible for Pavlopetri to be fully explored so that everyone in the world can learn what it has to teach us.