Roadcoex is the application for mobile phones and tablets created in the framework of the implementation of the project “The Road is Coexistence” by the environmental organization “Kallisto”, with the aim of informing and raising awareness of the residents of Western Macedonia, to reduce the road phenomenon mortality and the effects of road axes on protected wildlife species and especially the brown bear species.
The educational application that will be available next month in its final form, includes information material divided into different sections, the phenomenon of road accidents, the effects of road accidents and the risks they pose to biodiversity, what species are endangered, the projects and the methods of intervention to prevent and reduce the phenomenon, ie the measures taken and the interventions that have been made, as well as road safety instructions for the prevention of road accidents.
The material is accompanied by photographs and documentaries, which show the scientific results of Life Safe Crossing – an international project (Greece, Italy, Romania and Spain) aimed at reducing the environmental impact of roads on priority items, and Life Amybear with actions in the municipalities of Amyntaio and Florina for the improvement of the conditions of human-bear coexistence in the area.
The Roadcoex application and the documentary were presented at the final event of the project “The Road is Coexistence” with the theme “Preventing road accidents with wild animals”, which took place online with the participation of all its collaborating partners.
For its application and website, the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (TIMMY) and the Department of Fine and Applied Arts (TEET) of the University of Macedonia joined forces.
Participatory evaluation workshops were also organized, two with students from the collaborating departments of the University and one with local agencies and professionals from Florina, Kastoria and Kozani.
The documentary is produced by COINSEP Alterthess.
The activities around dealing with the effects of road works and transport infrastructure, are one of the objects that “Kallisto” has been dealing with for years, stressed the director of the organization Spyros Psaroudas.
Roads hide threats and problems, which have to do with the intervention that takes place in the environment in several cases. Especially when they are not properly designed, they create problems in the wild fauna and in nature, said Mr. Psaroudas, noting that they remove vital space from the species of wildlife and with road accidents they are the cause of killing animals. “Roads and transport projects can be a factor in the fragmentation of ecosystems and habitats – an issue that needs to be addressed,” he said.
George Mertzanis, Ph.D. biology, founding member, partner and scientific leader of the organization “Kallisto”.
In addition to the signs informing drivers, optical reflectors were placed in the concrete divider of the highway, which prevent animals from crossing the road, and the old fence was replaced by a high-reinforced one.
The accidents on the Egnatia Odos were dramatically reduced to zero, he stressed, adding that from 45 special cameras that have been installed in underground passages, information is transmitted in real time. Egnatia Odos SA, a partner in the Life Safe Crossing project, will improve the passages most commonly used by animals to secure their habitat.
A complex system will be installed in the old and new E.O. Amynataiou – Florina, as he said, will operate warning signs with an audible signal to the species, and will provide visual warning to the driver as he approaches a point where an animal is preparing to cross the road. The AVC / PS system will be tested for the first time in Greece in 2022.
The assistant professor Nikos Ploskas and Christos Kralis, PhD candidate, spoke about the participation of the University of Western Macedonia in the project and the technical characteristics of the application. The event was coordinated by Periklis Chatzinakos, corporate member of the organization “Kallisto” and coordinator of extroversion of the project “The Road is Coexistence”, also spoke the director of the Green Fund, George Protopapas and Lazaros Georgiadis, biologist .Ε ..
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