From all the above parts only condensers and reservoirs, ac-
MANAGEMENT OF lHE MESSOLONGHI SALTWORKS HABITAT
tually occupying ea. 90% of the saltworks area, are important for wild life. The Messolonghi saltworks is mn by the state owned "Hellenic Saltworks SA", which has been founded in 1988 with the primary aim of making Greece self-sufficient in salt production by developing the viable saltworks throughout Greece and modernising their operations. Beside Messolonghi, the company operates seven other saltworks in Greece and has started to set up a new saltworks installation on the Aegean island ofLirnnos.
Messolonghi saltworks is located in the West of Central Greece, West ofthe town ofMessolonghi. Although higher tern-
Description of the saline wetland
peratures and lower precipitation in south-eastern Greece is more favourable to salt production, Messolonghi saltworks is the biggest saltworks in Greece. This is simply because it occupies a
The Messolonghi saltworks site is part of the large wetland complex of"Messolonghi and Aetolikon lagoons, and Acheloos and Evinos estuaries" hereafter called "Messolonghi wetland complex" or simply "complex", The complex has been created
very large area (1,240 ha), which by far exceeds in size the flat saline lands available in the drier part of Greece. In average, Messolonghi saltworks produces ea. 110,000 tons of salt per annum. This production satisfies about 40% of the Greek domestic demand for salt. Because ofthe continuous irn-
by the rivers Acheloos and Evinos and is dominated by the la-
provements in the salt production know-how and technical in-
The Messolonghi wetland complex is one ofthe most important habitats in the European Union under Council Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds and classified as
goons of Messolonghi, which is one of the largest in the Mediterranean, and Aetolikon. It is partly a Ramsar site.
stallation, the quality as well as the quantity of the production are steadily increasing. The Messolonghi saltworks is a fully mecha nised plant as far as the saltpans layout, the pumping (electric) and the salt harvesting method (mechanical) are concerned. Briefly, the principal installations of the saltworks are the following (Petanidou, 1994): saltpans (condensers or solar evaporation ponds), in serial connection, where a successive
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evaporation of the sea water takes place, till saturation;
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crystallisers (crystallising basins) where the saturated brine is brought periodically, depositing on the bottom a layer of salt 8 to 17 cm thick; reservoirs, i.e. deep brinestoring ponds;
Situation of the Messolonghi Saltworks
pumping stations, canals, gates, small bridges etc., to control brine flow;
a Special Protection Area pursuant to this Directive. Over 40 bird species of Annex I of this Directive can be found here, most of them either occurring regularly or nesting in the area.
equipment for harvesting, transporting, washing, and storing the salt; weather station and chemical laboratory;
The most threatened European bird species, the slender-billed curlew, Numenius tenuirostris, is reported to use the area dur-
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