Posidonia Oceanica Meadows are critical in the fight against climate change. They not only produce oxygen but are significantly more effective in capturing and storing carbon dioxide than terrestrial tropical forests. Posidonia Oceanica meadows are the Lungs of the Mediterranean. Meadows can live for over 100,000 years and have evolved to be crucial in maintaining a healthy marine ecosystem. Thousands of species depend on these meadows but they are being lost at an alarming rate.
Posidonia Oceanica is a seagrass that grows on sandy and rocky bottoms from close to the surface to a depth of forty meters. These seagrass meadows once stretched for hundreds of kilometers but are now increasingly patchwork and at risk. Pollution, including noise pollution as well as rising temperatures are all putting a stress on these meadows but the most immediate threat comes from unsustainable fishing practices and anchorage. What has taken thousands of years to grow can be uprooted and destroyed within minutes.
Posidonia Oceanica meadows have often been overlooked and undervalued but no more. AEF is committed to working to protect these meadows of the Argolic Gulf. Beginning with mapping Posidonia Oceanica within the waters of Spetses and Hydra, we aim to create the necessary baseline with which to trace and plot successes in protecting them.
With these maps and our increasing knowledge in the distribution of meadows we work to raise awareness, work and strategize with stakeholders and lobby for policy change that will further enable and enforce their protection. If these meadows are lost, they will be lost for many generations. It is now or never.
Find out more about our work on Posidonia mapping.
Find out about our Posidonia event in collaboration with the Municipality of Spetses.
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