ECONOMY

Gavdos is a very small island defined by the permanent characteristics of insularity. These features are:

the small size, in terms of area and population, which implies a very small market and limitation in natural resources, which makes the environmental balance fragile and environmental management necessary.
the regionality and isolation that entail high costs in all the functions of the island and the acquisition of the necessary infrastructure.

These characteristics lead to a low attractiveness of the island which results in a severe demographic problem and its gradual desertification. The effects of the marginalization of Gavdos (reduction and aging of the population, abandonment of the primary sector and desertification of the lands, lack of infrastructure and services, technological and cultural desertification, etc.) appear in the form of inherent and unalterable characteristics, while they are nothing but secondary effects from the absence of an integrated local development plan.

The reversibility of characteristics considered handicaps depends on the approach with which the developmental problem is examined. For this reason, it should be examined whether these characteristics can be exploited within the new international environment, to analyze how the factors of location of activities and settlement of people have changed in order to determine the factors that can turn Gavdos into an attractive place of residence and establishment.