The riverside area of Acheron river located near the village of Glyki, at the municipality of Souli, is a typical case of tourist exploiting of a natural resource. The current situation in the area sets up consideration about the dipole touristic development / environmental protection. Which is the Acheron ecosystem carrying capacity, as far as human intervention is concerned and how can it be protected from degradation? In order to answer this question, the concept of carrying capacity is introduced in this paper, which explores the limits of an ecosystem or a region.
Several indicators, which are delineating the touristic footprint have been used, as well as data concerning the biological identity of the region, in order to calculate its carrying capacity. The analysis revealed, firstly, that there are carrying capacity limits which are disrupted during the high touristic season. Moreover it is shown that, although, the quality of water in Acheron river is satisfactory, the ecosystem shows a tendency towards degradation.