No new tourist beds on Paros

Peticija upućena: General Secretariat for Spatial Planning and Urban Environment of the Ministry of Environment and Energy (YPEN), Mayor of Paros and Municipal Council, Members of Parliament for the Cyclades

The recent destruction by fire of the most pristine part of our island resembles a death foretold. For at least a decade now, Paros has been in the crosshairs of interests that see our island as a profit field, while remaining completely indifferent to its sustainability and future. The future of Paros is being planned by centres outside Paros.

The difficulties in waste management, the pressures on the water supply, the heavy strain on the primary sector, as necessary as it is precious, as well as on the lives of those who persist in living in the traditional villages, the permanent summer traffic congestion, and the shortage of parking space, all cry out that carrying capacity has been exceeded.
And instead of preparing for the climate crisis that is already battering our islands(1), we face intense pressure for further "investments" in tourism, while the role of the Municipality and concerned citizens in critical decision-making continues to be weakened.

Beyond the immediate, short-term measures we must demand for our island in light of this recent disaster, it is now necessary that we also fight for what is being prepared for the near future:

The new Local Urban Plan (Τ.Π.Σ.), the plan that will determine land use for the next 20-plus years, is being drawn up by a consulting firm commissioned by the Ministry, following directions handed down from Athens, without taking into account the proposals officially submitted by the Municipality and the citizens of our island.

What does the Τ.Π.Σ. provide for regarding tourist beds? Hotels of up to 100 beds across much of the coastal zone. That is, even larger hotels than those allowed under the old General Urban Plan (Γ.Π.Σ.), which set a ceiling of 80 beds. And this, even though in the Carrying Capacity Study (Μ.Φ.Ι.) accompanying the proposed spatial plan, the critical indicator capturing the resident/visitor ratio is 2.31, exceeding the critical threshold of 2.00, the point marking the maximum tolerable capacity. This calculation does not include new beds (hotels, rental rooms, or homes that will also be used for short-term rental) that have recently opened, are under construction, or have been licensed for construction. By 2030, the tolerable-population index will have risen to dangerous levels.

What is the situation right now? At this moment, Paros receives around one million visitors every year. As those of us who live on the island know all too well, that number of visitors is already barely tolerable. Any additional infrastructure built to serve more visitors would place even greater strain on natural resources and on infrastructure already under pressure (including waste management, which was the direct cause of the forest fire), as well as on the daily lives of both permanent residents and visitors. By 2030, when the ΤΠΣ is expected to be legislated, this critical indicator will already have reached disastrous levels.

(1)International studies have for years predicted the particular vulnerability of the Aegean region to the effects of the climate crisis. In Paros, the centuries-old Junipers that were reduced to ashes by the fire had already shown pronounced signs of decline due to prolonged drought.