In Hydra the only mode of transportation is by donkey, mule, or water taxi, besides the two garbage trucks. The island is actually a national monument and has the feel of a small town. There’s no mass tourism, all the restaurants are family owned. Along with it not having mass tourism there are no hotels or an airport. Everything may look great from the surface but there are issues with garbage, water, and electricity. The only economic activity on the island is tourism. Everything is even brought to the island by boat, including ice. The way the island has electricity is from undersea cables. One time in 2018 the cable broke and the island was at a standstill.

There are two different views, the first is where people feel like Hydra has been sidelined as some of the islands have become more popular. The other view is people who have their summer home, environmentalists, and foreign residents fear development. Some people believe the only income the island receives are from visitors. A good portion of jobs in Greece is specifically for tourism. During the summer time in Hydra they have to bring in more workers since they get so busy.

Most of these issues are arising because of the rise of tourism. The reputation of visiting Greece has worsen over the years. The rising price of land is forcing locals to move out and rich foreigners moving in. There were rumors going around Hydra that they were planning to make the island more accessible to cruise ships like Santorini.

The main issue in ydra is that it is unsustainable. The young people who visit don’t see a future there. People are thinking the island is turning into an island for old people’s home for the rich. To tackle the problems on the island they need to take a bottom-up approach.

They decided to start a research project. This project includes the research of energy use, waste disposal, water supply, land use and transportation to make a plan for the island.

The main source of water is from the water boat which transports water from the mainland to the island. Some ideas for the island to be self sufficient is collecting rain water, getting new cistern systems or holding tanks or a reservoir. One idea that is less sustainable are pipelines to the mainland. This source is very unsustainable. The main ideas to make this more sustainable are generating power from wind and water. The islands waste is brought to a designated area and set on fire. There tends to be spillage that gets into the sea and soil. A small idea is to create a fee for plastic bags. It’s not a giant step but it’s a start. Other ideas included plastic water bottles being banned or a separate waste collection system. Transportation and education and employment are two other areas that also need to be focused on.