Work on the demarcation of the Great Stream Rafina “freezes”. The State Council issued a temporary order pending the decision of the Suspension Committee early next week. The application was submitted by organizations and residents of the areawhile it is supported by many environmental organizations and scientific bodies who believe that the damage done to the stream and its natural course will be irreversible.

Work on the Megalo Creek Rema and Valanari in Rafina began two weeks ago. With the entry of heavy equipment (excavators and tracked vehicles) into the bed of the stream, agencies and citizens once again appealed to the highest court for divorce with a request to stop, and the Movement for the Protection and Promotion of the Great Rafina Stream organized protests. . Together with the reactionaries, a number of organizations were created, such as the Hellenic Society for the Preservation of the Environment and Culture (ELLET), the Hellenic Society for the Conservation of Nature, the Hellenic Ornithological Society, the Roy Association, iSea and others.

“Attica’s second largest river is in danger of becoming East Attica’s ‘Kifissos’, a storm sewer. Today, it is a rich ecosystem unique to the ecologically disadvantaged region of Attica,” the joint statement said. “With rich wetlands and floodplains, with over 150 species of birds (many endangered) living or visiting, with endangered fish, with vegetation including over 2,500 trees, the Velikaya Rafina Stream is rightfully characterized by the state as priority watercourse, a stream of “Special Ecological Interest” by Presidential Decree and rightfully included in the Register of Protected Areas of the European Directive 2000/60/EC on Waters, as “area designated for the protection of habitats and species”. Despite encroachment, local dams and obsolete ferries (bridges), Megalo Rema Rafina has until today saved Rafina from catastrophic Mandra floods because it has remained natural (except for some local interventions, for example, at its mouth). ) and its flood zones in the Spata Plain, absorbing excess water, have not yet been built up. The settlement project will cut off the flow from these wetlands and allow all of these undeveloped lands to be exploited.”