BENEFITS OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF RESTORING WETLAND BIODIVERSITY Thessalia, Greece Key Message Developing a large wetland area, as part of the restoration of an ecosystem, delivers strong economic, social and cultural benefits. Several ecosystem services, such as local water and soil management, the sourcing of water and flood
control provide infrastructure that generates jobs, better drinking water for residents and opportunities for eco-tourism. Investing in a Lake’s flora and fauna supports biodiversity, the economy and people’s health and livelihoods.
Area of focus Green infrastructure, eco-tourism, biodiversity restoration, wetland areas, local economy.
Type, size and source of funding Between 2007-2013, the Lake Karla project received €38 million in co-funding from Cohesion Policy. The full investment
over the period was €50 million. At the national level, the project was supported by the Operational Programme (OP) ‘Environment and Sustainable Development’, under Priority Axis 9 ‘Protection of the Environment and Biodiversity’. Total investment since 1999 (with funding from 2000 – 2006) was around €250 million.
Project Background Lake Karla sits in the south-eastern part of the Thessaly plain. It is Greece’s biggest plain and most fertile agricultural area. During the early 20th century, the Pinios River often overflowed, flooding the Thessaly valley. Dams were built
to resolve this problem. However, the waters of Lake Karla were no longer renewed; inevitably their quality declined
and mosquitos and malaria thrived. In 1962, the lake was fully drained to create more farmland; later water tanks were
built to irrigate the wider Thessaly valley. This caused radical ecological and socio-economic changes in the lakeside. PART .04
Fishermen became farmers and water extracted for irrigation depleted groundwater levels. As the land became less
suitable for productive use, people migrated to the cities, and the local economy stagnated. To tackle this problem, a
project to re-create approximately 15,000 hectares of the Lake was initiated between 2000 and 2006 supported by the Cohesion Fund (the Lake’s surface area before drainage was around 53,000 hectares).
The project A follow-up project, funded by the 2007 – 2013 national-level OP, aimed to complete the reconstitution of Lake Karla. It should
be completed by 2013. The project addresses the energy-intensive use of boreholes, the overuse of underground waters and the destruction of biodiversity.
Specific objectives include finding alternatives to provide surface water to farmers for irrigation, providing water to the nearby
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