Paros and Antiparos at a Crossroads

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Construction on our two islands is increasing significantly, driven by the prospect of a massive airport expansion. Our islands are also grappling with an even more significant influx of tourists, a consequence of the saturation of accommodation capacity on Santorini and Mykonos and the relative deterioration of the environment on the latter two islands. As a result, Paros (along with Antiparos) and Naxos are emerging as the new destinations most frequently suggested by tourism professionals and other international operators.
As a result, the well-known problems of traffic, overcrowding of public spaces, waste collection and management, drinking water supply, water for crops and health care, to name but a few, have increased, making the task of the new Paros Municipal Team, which represents the hopes for improvement of the population, whether local or immigrant, more difficult, if not in some respects impossible.
What is new is the emergence of new economic players who are investing massively in Paros, following a purely financial rationale that does not always respect the environment and the Cycladic character of our two islands. When combined, the scale of these investments simply cannot coexist with our islands’ environment and Cycladic identity. At a time when local players were beginning to realise the disadvantages of unregulated, even uncontrolled, development and were, therefore, prepared to show greater respect for the natural and cultural environment of our islands, the arrival of economic players from outside the island is making it more difficult to push for controlled, sustainable development.
Does this mean that nothing more can be done to stop this destructive march? We don’t think so. The election of a new municipal team sensitive to the issue of sustainable development is a source of hope, as is the mobilisation of citizens, both local and foreign, in favour of limiting the commercial footprint on public space and defending common goods. Finally, the vigilance, attention and action of citizens in all their dimensions are essential. For example, the associations’ appeal to the local council to enforce the law restricting new construction to plots that already have direct access to a legal public road, thus prohibiting the construction of new roads and even more new buildings that saturate the natural environment, is a very good example of the room for manoeuvre that exists to put the brakes on “the unbridled march of the train towards the abyss“.