Greece

Our city, Kalamata

Major environmental problems that Kalamata faces
• One of the most important environmental problems that Kalamata faces every summer is the massive forest fires that burn large areas full of trees and have a very serious impact on the ecosystem. The great fires in August 2007 that burnt villages and areas of extreme natural beauty in Western Peloponnese is only one tragic example. Many other fires preceded and followed, such as fires on Taygetos Mountain, the last green area close to Kalamata and other mainland regions.
• Waste management is also a major problem to be dealt with in the
Municipality of Kalamata. Dumping all the waste of the area in Maratholakka (a hidden area on Taygetos mountain) is something like a common secret for everyone. Tons of rubbish is deposited there causing a huge environmental degradation of the natural environment, but Kalamata “looks“ a clean city.

• During the past decades there has been a decrease of the annual and seasonal levels of precipitation. This is expected to affect the fauna and flora, the biodiversity, the water resources, the forest fires and various other sensitive ecosystems.
• Another issue that our city is forced to face is air pollution. Air pollution is often caused by several fumes such as carbon dioxide emitted by the few factories operating in the area such as a tobacco factory and some plants which process the outcomes of the olive oil plants which are harmful for people’s health. For instance, long-term health effects from air pollution include heart disease, lung cancer, and respiratory diseases such as emphysema. Air pollution can also cause long-term damage to people’s nerves, brain, kidneys, liver, and other organs. Some scientists suspect air pollutants cause birth defects.

The best environmental features in our city:
•electric bicycles and cars
They cause the least possible pollution in the long run, provided they use
electricity from renewable energy sources. Under this condition, they can
mitigate global warming caused by the greenhouse effect and reduce
dependence on oil.
They are quieter than internal combustion cars, reducing noise pollution in cities and putting less strain on natural ecosystems.
• biological wastewater treatment
Biological treatment using filters is a natural method of urban wastewater treatment. This method, in addition to cleaning the sewage and eliminating its polluting effect, saves water which can be reused in various uses, such as for irrigation. It is also able to convert solid waste components into sewage agricultural crops. The method is based on the application of environmental technology.

Ways we suggest to solve the problems that exist in our city
• urban green
Urban green, nowadays and in the conditions of the big city, must
provide an opportunity to escape from the anthropogenic dense
environment to a place with other colors, shapes and sounds, in a
cleaner atmosphere, softer noises, in a cool, shady or very sunny
place , with a clearer sky or abundant views. Although Kalamata
already has a park located between the town square and the beach,
the park of OSE

• the expansion of the bike lanes, the regular cleaning of the waters of the Nedontas river are the solutions we present and expect to be solved immediately as one of the most basic problems of our city.