Elena Markitani, Communications Coordinator, of Birdlife Cyprus, said that their one of the leading nature protection organizations on the island and actions must be taken now to prevent extinction and reserve biodiversity.
She stated that their mission is to protect the wild birds of Cyprus, their habitats, and wider biodiversity, through monitoring, lobbying, conservation and education actions, and by developing people’s appreciation of nature.
Birdlife Cyprus implements various activities to inform and raise awareness on the birds of Cyprus.
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Birdlife Cyprus, we discuss about the organisation’s actions and the major environmental issues in Cyprus with Elena Markitani, Communications Coordinator, in an interview she granted to Voice International.
Question: What was the initial purpose of Birdlife Cy and what are some of the accomplishments of your work?
Elena: BirdLife Cyprus was founded in 2003 through the merger of the Cyprus Ornithological Society (1957) and the Cyprus Ornithological Society (1970). From small beginnings, and just two people as full-time staff. Today, we are one of the leading nature protection organizations on the island with around 16 staff and more than 700 members who share our vision and add strength to our voice. Since day one, our mission has been to protect the wild birds of Cyprus, their habitats, and wider biodiversity, through monitoring, lobbying, conservation and education actions, and by developing people’s appreciation of nature. As for our most important achievements, we’ll let the video below do the talking…
Question: What are the major environmental issues in Cyprus?
Elena: The frantic development that is taking place in the form of casinos, luxury hotels and golf resorts at the expense of nature goes to show that Cyprus has a different vision when it comes to development. There is an urgent need to change the way we view and relate to nature and biodiversity. The rate of extinctions and biodiversity loss across the globe is – there is growing evidence to suggest – pretty much unprecedented. Unless urgent action is taken now to change things, future generations will look back to our time now as the point at which our living systems really began to collapse. Biodiversity is key to keeping the natural systems healthy. The impact of biodiversity loss, may not be immediately evident, but it is very hard to reverse and will have a serious longer-term cost. We at BirdLife Cyprus are doing what we can to raise awareness about the need to protect nature, by preserving and properly managing key ‘hotspot’ sites such as Akamas and Akrotiri, by halting illegal bird killing and by keeping farming and forestry practices as wildlife-friendly as possible. We work in schools to try to build a link with nature with the new generation, we pressure decision-makers and we try to get the most pressing issues in the media.
Question: What kind of activities do you do to promote the protection of the natural environment?
Elena: We implement various activities to inform and raise awareness on the birds of Cyprus, the threats they face and the need to protect them and their habitats. Through outreach actions we also aim to bring young and old closer to nature and to inspire respect for the birds and biodiversity of Cyprus. We believe that the foundations for the development and practice of environmental citizenship are laid in the early stages of a person’s life and therefore education of children and youth lies at the core of our awareness-raising actions. For this reason, we work closely with schools and we regularly organize events for the whole family out in nature such as birdwatching, bird ringing demonstrations, nest box making workshops and other arts and crafts activities in relation to nature. We are also very active in promoting birdwatching in Cyprus both to locals and tourists, as this not only helps locals realize the importance of preserving Cyprus’ nature and wildlife, but it also adds an economic value to protecting birds.
Question: What is your work in the Akrotiri and what is the importance of the Peninsula?
Elena: Akrotiri Peninsula is one of the most important marine and terrestrial biodiversity hotspots in Cyprus, due to a unique combination of factors, including its location, geomorphology and diverse hydrological conditions. It is the largest natural aquatic system in Cyprus, centred around a seasonal Salt Lake. It hosts a mosaic of different habitats, from coastal sand dunes to Mediterranean forests of junipers and from saltmarshes to grazing marshes and reedbeds. At the same time, supports a significant number of rare, vulnerable or endangered species of plants and animals. It also supports a high number of internationally important migratory birds, providing them with a significant resting, breeding and feeding habitat. The Salt Lake supports large congregations of water birds, such as Greater Flamingo. The peninsula is also a raptor bottleneck site in the autumn with good numbers of harriers, falcons and eagles.
Since 2015, through various projects, we implement significant actions that aim in the restoration and conservation of habitats, the protection of fauna and flora species, the wise and sustainable use of the area and the support of the local economy around the protection of the site. At the same time, we systematically monitor bird species on a monthly basis at key sites of the Peninsula. Finally, we implement various activities to raise awareness on the environmental importance of the Peninsula.
You can find more information on: http://www.akrotirimarsh.org/en/home ; https://visitakrotiri.cy/
Question: Recently you made an announcement regarding different issues that occurred during the improvement of the road network in Akamas National Forest Park. Can you tell us about that?
Elena: The first phase of the road improvement comes from the Sustainable Development Plan of the Akama National Forest Park, and involves the improvement of three main roads in Akamas. After the first phase, the Plan includes the improvement of 8 more roads and the construction of 14 visitor service infrastructure nodes.
This Plan was submitted to an environmental assessment, and was approved on the basis of certain conditions, which are legally binding. What is being discussed in public recently, after complaints from environmental organizations, is the violation of these terms. That is, the widening of sections of these roads beyond the limits set (e.g. the Lara circular road, while it was supposed to have a maximum width of 4.2 meters, it is 7.9 to 9.7 meters wide), the uncontrolled deposition of paving stones in environmentally sensitive areas, the earthworks, excavations and embankments in protected landscapes, the multiple and incompatible retaining walls in front of unique landforms and the failure to implement important conditions before the work starts. These include the removal of all illegal properties, which are still located there and some are still operating in the area.
We are closely monitoring the developments as we continue to demand a clear admission from the State that the final construction plans do not comply with the legally binding conditions of the environmental approval, the recording and remediation of any environmental damage already caused on the basis of an independent study, as well as the complete re-evaluation and redesign of the projects envisaged by the Akama National Forest Park Sustainable Development Plan. We are not against the operation of the Akama National Forest Park, as long as it is done on a proper basis with respect for nature and the laws that govern it.
We are closely monitoring the developments as we continue to demand a clear admission from the State that the final construction plans do not comply with the legally binding conditions of the environmental approval, the recording and remediation of any environmental damage already caused on the basis of an independent study, as well as the complete re-evaluation and redesign of the projects envisaged by the Akama National Forest Park Sustainable Development Plan. We are not against the operation of the Akama National Forest Park, as long as it is done on a proper basis with respect for nature and the laws that govern it.Kallis Antounas-Voice International 2023
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