Acheloos valey

Acheloos is a river that is believed that it was worshipped as a God by the residents of the regions which it crossed. The older known representations of god Acheloos are dated in the 7th century B.C. The prevailing interpretation of his name result from first conjunctive of the root "ah" or "aha" (Latin aqua) that means water and comparative surname "loon" that has also the significance of quantitatively biggest. Together they declare a multi-watered river.

Today Acheloos with a total length of 220 km is the second longest river of the country, it springs from the south-western Pindos, crosses by making endless twists and turns, the mountains of western Sterea Ellada and flows in the Ionian sea. On its way are unique ecosystems are developed, that include species - plants and animals - rare in the European region. Bears, deers, vultures, wolves and eagles live in the inaccessible extents, proving that the ecosystem is kept at the most excellent situation.

Its waters did not only were the channel of communication between the local populations but also a point of frictions. Traces of cultures that were acted on its watercourses are preserved until today: ruins of castles, tiled paths, stone arch bridges, Byzantine churches. Once the valley of the river was used as road for the caravans of mules that were heading to the markets of Balkan countries and central Europe. In the Modern Greek history, the region played an important role in the Revolution of 1821 and in the National Resistance.

Between the decades of 50 and 90 three human interventions were made at the river's flow that aimed at the creation of hydroelectric dams and another one was made at his riverine Tavropos that had an irrigatory purpose for the valley of Karditsa. Thus the dam of Kremasta, the dam of Kastraki and the dam of Stratos resulted. At the same period a dramatic decreasing of the population in the region took place, the rate of reduction for the riverine villages of the three prefectures that are crossed by Acheloos is as much as 35% while the rate of ageing in these regions - individuals over 65 years old - was in 1991 around 20% when in the rest of the country was 12,7%. It is obvious that the removal of the active working population during the period of the dam manufacturing promotes sublime obstacles at the efforts regarding the region's growth.

The estuaries of Acheloos in Ionian sea shape an extensive delta that is known as one of the most important water biotopes of the Mediterranean sea. Reeds thicket, marshes with rich vegetation, brackish lagoons, rare in the Mediterranean environment sand dunes and wet fields compose an astonishing landscape of exceptional biological importance - its sustainable continuity is achieved via the sweet waters and the brought matters of Acheloos. Essential elements for the maintenance of the salinity and sand islets that protect the lagoons from the erosive impetus of the sea. In the delta a rich poultry fauna also exists, that combined with the variety of species prove the delta's value. Its special ability not to freeze during the winter renders it a shelter for some species to overwinter, species that would otherwise be exterminated by the chill climates of the northern Balkan!

The form of the delta is shaped during the last 10.000 years by the illuviations of Acheloos. An important extent is protected by the treaty of Ramsar regarding the protection of wetlands of international importance. But in reality no one of the 11 Greek wetlands is protected effectively and as a result those eleven are included in the Montreux list as threatened wetlands of international importance! The human activity in the region - as expressed through intensive cultures, drainings, illegal hunting, illegal building, deposition of waste, coffer-damming of the river's watercourse -  causes strong pressures on the viability of the wetlands.