Rivers of life threatened by multiple calamities

It starts like all classical tales - mystical and ethereal. The crystal-clear river pool is the site of the Sanctuary of Pamisos, an underwater temple in the Peloponnese. It is a cool and tranquil haven in summer. With reeds waving under the surface like nymphs' tendrils, it is easy to imagine it as a place of healing in ancient times.

But how quickly the story takes a dramatic turn. How could something so pure be transformed so quickly into something so tragic?

Today, as this gentle river meanders its way to the sea, it is befallen by all kinds of calamities. From its source, a myriad of fresh water springs, it is assaulted at all turns.

It is bombarded with plastic of every conceivable kind; lethal shopping bags, frappe coffee containers and their deadly straws, and a toxic cornucopia of rubbish from building sites along the way.

As the stream slows...

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