DYTIKI MAKEDONIA - Geography and history
Western Macedonia occupies a geographically isolated position in the northwestern part of Greece. It is bounded by Albania, the FYROM, Central Macedonia, Thessalia and Epirus, and comprises the nomí of Kozani, Florina, Kastoria and Grevena. It covers an area of 9 452 km2.
The regional capital is the town of Kozani and other important urban centres include Kastoria, Ptolemaida, Florina and Grevena.
The terrain is mountainous, the flat areas being restricted largely to upland basins, two of which (those of Ptolemaida-Kozani and Siatista-Grevena) are amongst the largest in the country. Distinctive features of the region's natural environment are its high mountains ? the northern Pindos, Grammos and Voras ? and its beautiful lakes such as the Greek part of Megali Prespa, Mikri Prespa or Lake Kastoria. The latter has a unique feature, its famous prehistoric lake settlement (dating from the Neolithic period) being one of the few of its kind in Europe. The Prespa lakes also form one of the most important biotopes in Greece.
Five hundred years of the fur trade
Western Macedonia is one of the less highly developed regions of Greece owing to its geographical position and mountainous terrain.
Western Macedonia is rich in mineral deposits such as lignite, chromium, marble, etc. This has led to heavy industrialization, with the development of lignite extraction for power production. The generating capacity of the region's thermal power stations amounts to 55% of the national total. However, industrial development in the region has been rapid and unplanned, and this has caused tremendous problems in the primary sector (farmers forced into industrial jobs, devastation of agricultural land, particularly in the Kozani-Ptolemaida basin, one of the region's flat areas). For over 500 years, the region has been a centre for the processing and making-up of furs. Within the region the fur industry comprises some 4 000 companies and employs around 30 000 skilled and unskilled workers. This is still a very dynamic branch despite the current international crisis in the fur trade and competition from the East European countries.
Two axes of development
The area around the Kozani-Ptolemaida-Amindeo axis is the most heavily industrialized in the country after Attica and Thessaloniki. Most of the inhabitants here are employed as industrial workers in the large publicly owned companies. There has also been a population increase in the large towns (Kozani, Ptolemaida) around the industrial centres, which has led to housing and infrastructure problems. However, the region's main problems are pollution from lignite extraction, atmospheric emissions from power stations and liquid effluent from chemical plants, the result being deterioration in the environment and the quality of life. The area around the Kastoria -Orestiko axis is given over to the fur trade, which is central to the area's livelihood and development, accounting for 90% of economic activity. However, this branch, and hence the economy of the whole area, is currently facing serious problems as a result of competition and the increased cost of production.
All other areas of the region are underdeveloped, with underemployment amongst the rural population, low earnings and constant emigration. The inhabitants of these areas are chiefly employed in agriculture and forestry.
|
|