The Cabinet on Monday approved the plan for the development of Akamas peninsula, on the northwest of Cyprus, considered an area of vast biodiversity.
Speaking after the Cabinet meeting, Agriculture Minister Nicos Kouyialis said the Ministers adopted the proposal of the Ministerial Committee on Akamas which aims primarily at protecting nature, biodiversity and sustainable development in the region.
He told the press that the proposal includes five elements. One of them is starting the procedures to declare national forest part the state forest and the entire state property, which falls within the Natura 2000 – the network for protected areas around the world. The procedures also include the adoption and implementation of conservation and protection of nature and the promotion of measures for the natural environment of the region.
The Minister pointed out that the decision does not entail any shrinkage of the Natura 2000 limits and explained that no right for development is given to owners of small or large plots of land. In addition, he said, small and big land owners are to be treated equally.
According to Kouyialis, the ministerial decision paves the way for an effective protection of the area, pointing out that for the first time effective steps are taken that will regulate any environmentally harmful activities.
He also said that no possibility of financial compensation or property exchange is given to any landowner of large properties, stressing that the Auditor General has pointed out that any exchange of property or selective compensation to specific owners will create a problem of equal treatment of citizens of the Republic.
Kouyialis expressed confidence that the implementation of the European directive that governs the NATURA 2000 network and the measures to be taken in private and state property can protect the environment effectively.
He said that in the past a number of 22-23,000 inhabitants used to live in the region and today only three thousand people reside there, adding that the region has come in decline and the new plan will protect the environment and revitalize the whole region.
The Minister pointed out that the EU Directive provides a strong legal regulatory framework for the protection of the area, calling on all environmental organizations to realize what the Directive entails.
The Akamas plan, as approved today by the Cabinet, refers in particular to the adoption and implementation of conservation and protection of nature and promotion of measures of the natural environment of the region, as recorded in the second draft of the Management Plan. These measures apply to the whole region, on private and state-owned land.
The Government will be hiring a specialized consultant in order to propose ways on how to better utilize the national forest park and recommend ways for the management of the entire region, which falls within the NATURA 2000 Network.
The Interior Ministry will also have to review the current planning situation in the area and prepare a local plan which should be completed in 18 months.
CNA has learned that the Minister has already asked the Environmental and Forestry Department to issue decrees which will allow taking nature protection measures on private and state land in the Akamas area.
Kouyialis has given instructions for the procedures to begin in order to declare the area a National Forest Park and assign a specialized consultant to submit proposals on the design of the park.