Off the Greek island of Alonissos in the eastern Aegean Sea, volunteer divers grab decaying plastic bottles, a tire and a rusted anchor chain from the seabed and place them in a trash bag as part of an EU-funded cleanup to protect marine life. - REUTERS
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00:00The Greek island of Alonisos in the Eastern Aegean Sea is a popular tourist destination
00:07and home to Europe's largest protected marine park.
00:11But beneath the surface of its blue waters lies a growing threat, marine pollution.
00:18Volunteer divers recently uncovered plastic bottles,
00:22tyres and rusted debris littering the seabed. It's a small glimpse into the tens of thousands
00:29of tons polluting the Mediterranean each year.
00:32I'm really proud for this team because it's a civil society movement.
00:39George Sarelikos is president of Greece-based agency Aegean Rebreath,
00:44which organised the two-day EU-funded clean-up.
00:48The civil society can achieve everything. People all over the globe should know that
00:55we have the strength to change everything. We really believe in the individual responsibility
01:02of people. We invest in this and we'll be happy to share our experiences to other
01:09movements or people that would like to make a difference at local level.
01:13Established in the early 1990s, the Alonisos Marine Park is home to one of the world's
01:20last remaining colonies of monk seals, as well as 300 fish species, dolphins and sea turtles.
01:27Its existence has made both locals and tourists increasingly aware of the risks of marine pollution,
01:34said Theodora Francis, one of the divers who joined the two-day initiative.
01:39We visited five, four areas to check whether we find rubbish in those areas. In most of those areas,
01:47we didn't find because Alonisos is a very green island and is a part of the marine park.
01:54But in some areas, we did find rubbish, which is in the main port in Voci,
02:00where most of the travelling and tourism and fisherman activity is happening.
02:06To protect its coastal biodiversity, Greece will create two new marine parks in the Aegean
02:12and Ionian seas as part of 21 initiatives worth 780 million euros, which is about $887 million.
02:22It will also expand marine protected areas to cover 30% of its territorial waters by 2030,
02:29and has submitted plans to the EU outlining how it will organise fishing, tourism and offshore energy.
02:36Francis believes Alonisos can serve as a model for protecting the seas.
02:42Take care of the place where your community lives, because this is just one community here,
02:48and if every island had the same interest in taking care of their environment,
02:55we'll have the Alonisos situation in much more islands.
02:59So, let's take care of the people who are in the future.
03:05So, let's take care of the people who are in the future.
03:07So, let's take care of the people who are in the future.
03:09So, let's take care of the people who are in the future.
03:11So, let's take care of the people who are in the future.
03:13So, let's take care of the people who are in the future.
03:14So, let's take care of the people who are in the future.
03:16So, let's take care of the people who are in the future.
03:18So, let's take care of the people who are in the future.
03:20So, let's take care of the people who are in the future.
03:22So, let's take care of the people who are in the future.
03:24So, let's take care of the people who are in the future.