Livestock husbandry and environmental degradation in Chalki

Chalki of Dodekanese is an isolated island with a serious demographic and environmental degradation since the last century. The landscape is rocky and covered by phryganic vegetation. The main reason for this degradation is the irrational grazing by livestock. In Chalki and the 6 islets that surround it, local breeds of sheep and goats are grazing without control thus destroying not only rangelands but also the cultivated orchards. Rangelands amount to 3,500 ha and constitute the main land use. Grazing capacity is less than half of the grazing pressure. Animals have low yields while the market of the products is poorly organized. In this study, a reduction of the grazing animals by 40% is suggested with a concurrent increase of their productivity. In addition, improvement of rangeland infrastructure, forage production, shepherds’ organization and marketing of the animal products is proposed. It is expected that these interventions will increase the farmer’s income by 5 times while they will also improve the environment. It is concluded that the proposals of this study can be used as a model for combating desertification caused by livestock husbandry in other Aegean islands, too.