*Efi Xanthou, Political Scientist, Member of VOLT CYPRUS Political Committee
There are days when I feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of environmental problems that keep coming to light. So many open fronts and you see systemic failure in all its glory. That is exactly how I felt this week in August, as we all slowly returned to our normal routines. I wanted to cry.
For the past month, it has once again been revealed that sewage is being discharged by SALA at Moni in Limassol. Let me say that again: the Limassol District Local Government Organisation (EOA), under which SALA now falls, is discharging sewage directly into the sea, and the issue has been documented by the Pentakomo community with photographic and audiovisual evidence. The issue was discussed in the media for two or three days, and then—silence. Not a word from SALA, the Department of Environment, the Department of Fisheries, the Ministry of Agriculturemore generally, or the Attorney General.
On 27 August, the competent authorities in Limassol finally decided to hold yet another broad meeting to discuss the issue. I have lost count of how many times they have gathered over the years to decide whether the pollution of our seas comes from ships at the anchorage, drainage pipes from high-rise buildings, stormwater drains depositing whatever they carry directly onto our beaches, or sea turtles (yes! We have heard that one too!). Yet when a mayor who participated in the meeting was asked what had been said about the malfunctions at SALA's treatment plant in Moni, and whether the situation had been affected by the upgrading works at Vati, his answer was: "No comment." It is an open secret that everyone knows—except, apparently, the authorities! And so, yet again, the meeting concluded that the responsibility belongs to Nobody!
Limassol is drowning in sewage, with all the public-health and environmental risks that this entails. It risks losing its tourism product, and the income generated by it, because sewage keeps appearing in its bathing waters, while the authorities bury their heads in the sand.
Meanwhile, the Director of the Department of Environment—the Ministry of Agriculture now has two Directors-General—in an interview admitted that we have an extremely serious problem with waste management in this country. He reminded us that the Koshi facility does not process all the waste it receives: it is required to process only 70%, while the remaining 30% is sent directly to landfill. In Paphos, there is no waste-treatment facility whatsoever, and everything goes directly to landfill. At the Pentakomo Integrated Waste Management Facility, 80% of the waste received is buried.
The Minister has also admitted that Cyprus has been condemned for failing to comply with EU law on waste management and that we are now waiting to learn the size of the fines. At the same time, municipalities are protesting against the Government's intention to implement Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) because there is NO organic-waste management programme in place. This makes any PAYT scheme hypocritical, since most citizens will have no way of avoiding putting their organic waste into their ordinary rubbish (composting being a solution for those that have a garden).
And after my little meltdown over sewage and rubbish, I started thinking about the problems arising from our failure to effectively protect Natura 2000 sites and Special Protection Areas. We have beachgoers who feel perfectly comfortable descending on Lara Beach with their umbrellas and tents and taking over a beach that is supposedly under strict protection as a nesting site for loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) and green turtles (Chelonia mydas).
For decades—and I am not exaggerating—the Department of Environment has been promising us that it will issue the necessary conservation plans so that Cyprus is no longer in breach of the relevant European directives. In the meantime, the District Local Government Organisations and the Town Planning authorities hand out planning permits freely, approving roadworks and infrastructure that create faits-accomplis in these environmentally sensitive areas.
And this provides an excuse for local officials to insist that they will create organised bathing beaches on strictly protected shores; for bishops to build illegal monasteries in Natura areas; for companies to carpet fertile agricultural land with photovoltaic panels; for the wealthy to build villas in Akamas; and for governments to build avenues and supply drinking water and electricity to plots within Natura 2000 areas, thereby giving their owners the ability to subsequently seek development permits.
To be fair, the Ministry of Interior also bears serious responsibility for this situation. It refuses to incorporate the protection zones and their accompanying parameters into its Local Plans and Area Plans—something that would automatically restrict the development rights of any applicant.
And then there are the whispers that certain conservation decrees were actually prepared years ago but remain locked away in the drawers of successive Interior Ministers, never published in the Official Gazette because certain interests are being protected…
And these are only the issues that emerged this week! Meanwhile, our Government has set itself the goal of becoming the "spearhead" in tackling climate change in our geographical region. And we, the citizens—active or otherwise—are left feeling that there is NO institution capable of protecting our country. How can the Government sue itself? How can the Department of Environment take legal action against the Water Development Department over the appalling management of the Pentakomo Integrated Waste Management Facility? How can the Department of Fisheries hold the Limassol District Local Government Organisation accountable for discharging sewage into the sea? Who will fine the local authorities for failing to implement Pay-As-You-Throw systems when they, too, are part of government? How can the Attorney General initiate proceedings ex officio against ALL of the above?
This is the tragedy of the Republic of Cyprus—and of its unfortunate citizens… God help us!
