Before we introduce ourselves more fully, we are happy to announce that we are making available on this site an interactive FLORA CHECKLIST for Chios (and other parts of the Eastern Aegean).

The results of our WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION, 2011, are now available here. The associated Exhibition – A LOOK ON THE WILD SIDE – opens at 8pm at CITRUS in Kampos on 19th August. The exhibition will run for 2 weeks. We had almost twice as many entries this year as we did last and were particularly delighted at the increase in young competitors. While we offer our warmest congratulations to all the official prize-winners, in our opinion everyone that went out with a camera this year to capture images of nature in Chios, Oinousses and Psara is a winner. The 2010 results can also be viewed here.

We are a not-for-profit company founded in London in 2005 with the aim of working to protect and preserve the diversity of the wildlife of Chios, Oinousses and Psara. We plan to achieve this by organising and funding a wide range of principally educational activities.

We hope that by highlighting the richness and beauty of the wildlife, both local people and visitors will be inspired to take a greater interest in it. They may even choose to make small changes in their attitudes, lifestyle and behaviour. And the wildlife will still be there for future generations to enjoy.

Chios, Oinousses & Psara

The Greek island of Chios lies in the Eastern Mediterranean, a few miles off the Turkish coast. Together with the neighbouring islands of Oinousses and Psara and a sprinkling of smaller, uninhabited, rocky islets, it forms a distinct group. Within a relatively small area these islands offer a diverse range of habitats that include fertile cultivated land, forested hillsides, river valleys, rocky cliffs and mountain plateaux, marshes, dunes and beaches - all surrounded by the waters of the Aegean Sea.

The geographical position of the islands places them on the migration route of many species of birds, making them an important staging post for some. Their isolation, and the non-intensive farming practices that have remained almost unchanged for hundreds of years, have allowed the survival of some rare species and the evolution of some unique and only recently described ones too. Specialists have recorded up to 75 different species of wild orchids alone, and (while experts debate the precise details of classification and taxonomy) that number seems likely to grow.

In common with most other parts of Greece, especially those that are near to the sea, Chios has sought to develop its tourist industry and has done so with some success. This has meant changes in agricultural practices as farmers leave the land to concentrate on earning a living in other ways. There is also a steady expansion of the local population. As a result the wildlife of the islands comes under pressure on several fronts. Just some of these are:

		Shooting in the hunting season
		Fewer cereal crops are grown
		Agricultural terraces are not maintained, leading to soil erosion
		Increased use of pesticides
		Expansion of the built environment
		Human disturbance
		Overgrazing