Environmentalism for the small, development for the big
In Corfu, the protection of the environment risks losing its legitimacy when it is applied with double standards. Strict enforcement against small-scale projects and flexibility toward large-scale developments serve neither the environment nor development—they undermine both.
It is hardly surprising that, in Corfu, more and more people are viewing every new environmental protection initiative with suspicion. Not because they are indifferent to the environment—which remains the island’s greatest comparative advantage—but because they have become convinced that the rules are not applied equally to everyone.
The case of Halikounas is a telling example. An area of exceptional ecological value, protected under the Natura 2000 network and now included in Greece’s "Untouched Beaches" regime, has become the focal point of a conflict between the need for environmental protection and the struggle of local communities to secure their economic survival.
The same pattern emerges elsewhere. In Garitsa, where proposals for a mooring facility or marina have met opposition from those calling for institutional protection of the historic bay. In the island’s parks, where small businesses find themselves confronted by a strict legal framework. Along the coastline, in land-use planning, and in the licensing process.
The problem is not environmental protection itself. It is the widespread perception that it functions as a filter. For the small entrepreneur, procedures become almost insurmountable. Bureaucracy multiplies, one official opinion follows another, and restrictions appear impossible to overcome. Yet when major investment projects or powerful business interests come into play, the very same regulations suddenly become remarkably flexible. Exceptions are found, interpretations change, and approval procedures are accelerated.
As a result, the frustration of small business owners is ultimately directed not against the injustice, but against environmental protection itself. And it is precisely this resentment that is then used to justify broader deregulation. Instead of demanding that the rules be applied equally, the call becomes one for relaxing them across the board. That is precisely where the larger players begin to benefit.
The outcome is a double loss. Environmental protection is weakened, while the local economy sees its most valuable natural asset gradually concentrated in fewer hands. Small businesses lose both from the restrictions and from the subsequent deregulation.
Development, however, cannot be a privilege, nor can environmental protection serve as a smokescreen. Laws cannot function like an accordion—contracting when applied to the weak and expanding when faced with the powerful. If Corfu truly wants a modern model of development, it needs something far more demanding than catchy slogans. It needs the rule of law. The same rules for everyone. Only then will protecting the island’s landscape become a shared responsibility of society, rather than the privilege of those with the power to interpret the rules as they see fit.
GIORGOS KATSAITIS
