A Visit to Tilos by Dr. Susan Hannon
August may not be the best time to visit Tilos Island, especially for a Canadian coming from a cool, wet western summer. My first impressions were: a hot, dry, inhospitable environment. Luckily the people were anything but!
My host, Konstantinos Mentzelopoulos, was very warm and welcoming and filled with enthusiasm and ideas for setting up a park on this wonderful island. I was joined by oceanographer Dr. Aimilia Drougas and Mr. Xenofon Kappas, Director of the Greek Ornithological Society, in my trip to investigate the island and I learned a lot from each of them about the geological origins of the island and the life of the Eleornora’s falcon respectively. We were met at the wharf at Livadia by Konstantinos, who looked like a boy scout troop leader, garbed in shorts, khaki shirt and brimmed hat and armed with a corn-cob pipe. We convened at a nearby café and Konstantinos gave us a brief history of the island and how he came to live here. He pointed out on a map the locations of the proposed protected areas: mostly high rocky areas and parts of islets surrounding the island. These are areas where local citizens have bought into the idea of the park, but, like many places in the world, they are spots where the possibility of human economic gain are slim. I found that my host had many ideas as to how other areas on the Island could be either brought into the park or could be used in a sustainable way.
I spent four days on the island, one day touring around the whole island, visiting Mikro Horio, Megalo Horio, the caves with the pygmy elephant bones, wonderful long clean beaches, and the marvelous jewel on the west side: the monastery at Agios Pandeleimonas. Other days were filled with swimming, hiking to the north and south of Livadia along spectacular trails with views of pristine beaches, terraced hills, blue rock thrush flitting over the rocks, goats, more goats and always the blue, blue sky and translucent water meeting at the coast of Turkey in the distance. And of course, many more discussions with Konstantinos and his wonderful wife Candice.
What I found most intriguing was the idea that mammals and birds had adapted over thousands of years to cultural landscapes, in particular the grain that was planted on the terraced slopes. With the exodus of people from Tilos after the war, these terraces were abandoned and species that relied on them have declined. One of the more innovative management plans is to restore these grain crops in the hopes of expanding populations at the lower end of the food chain. This will hopefully enhance populations of birds of prey, such as the Eleornora’s falcon and Bonelli’s eagle. Interestingly, after I left Tilos, I went to Hamburg, Germany and there learned about the restoration of another cultural landscape: heath lands. These habitats have also disappeared taking with them many charismatic species, such as the black grouse. The conservation challenges in Germany and Tilos are similar: restoration of cultural and natural landscapes and the development of sustainable agricultural practices and ecotourism that will give long-term economic benefits to local people, thereby ensuring support for conservation efforts.
Tilos is an incredible place that has not been spoiled by unrestrained unsustainable development. It is one of the few places left in the Aegean Sea like this and thus is of global importance as a representative of a rare ecosystem. With good planning, a strong vision and a will to make it so, it could emerge as a world model for ecologically and economically sustainable development.
The Tilos Park Elections
Dear Members of the Tilos Park Association:
It is Election time! Thank you for your warm-hearted support that has enabled us to arrive at this crucial moment for our Association’s development. Please, consider serving on our Board for the next two year term. Your skills, experience, and enthusiasm are needed. As per Article 10 of our bylaws, the positions are:
1. President (Community relations representative; person responsible for Board of Directors members’ execution of duties).
2. Vice-president (executes also duties of Director of Association Administration and General Secretary).
3. Scientific Director (supervisor of the Scientific Committee).
4. Economic Director (executes also the duties of Treasurer).
5. Legal Director (liaison with the legal counsel officially retained by the association; the legal Director cannot serve as association legal counsel during this term of Board of Directors office).
6. Director of Strategic Growth (the development of the association business plan).
7. Director of Press (in charge of all the publications of the association and the public relations with the members of the press).
8. Director of Marketing and Business Development (in charge of the marketing, promotional and business development activities of the association).
9. Director of Purchasing (in charge of the selection of suppliers to the association).
I am looking forward to receiving your nominations and/or candidacies as well as a brief biography of each candidate which must be sent via e-mail no later than September 25th. Thereafter, you will receive the next issue of our newsletter with brief biographies of all who have expressed an interest or have been nominated to serve our membership by standing for election for a Board of Directors position. Voting ballots will then be sent via e-mail to all of our members. Thank you once again for your support and remember: your vote is important to us!
Sincerely yours,
Konstantinos Mentzelopoulos
Director
E-mail: [email protected]
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