Cyprus Mail 1 May 2020 - by Bejay Browne
Work to upgrade facilities at the archaeological museum of Paphos has seen the root system of established pine and Kyparissi trees cut and dug up to enable electricity cables to be laid, endangering their very survival, according to a spokesman from the Paphos Greens.
“After complaints from our sensitive fellow citizens, we visited the courtyard of the museum where landscaping works are being carried out and the image we saw was shocking,” he told the Cyprus Mail on Wednesday.
He said deep trenches had been opened to pass electrical cables, which had severed and cut the root system of the large trees.
“According to our information, the law has not been applied to even the minimum. We recall that according to the law for trees with a perimeter (trunk width) of more than 50 cm there can be no intervention in the root system closer than one metre away.”
“Clearly this is not the case here,” he added. Instead, the trenches have been cut down only a few centimetres from the trunk.
The entire back area of a double-cabin truck was full of the severed root system that had been cut out and was whisked away, he said.
“There many questions that those responsible must answer,” he noted. For example, had they obtained the consent of the department of forests and if so, was there an officer present while the work was being carried out. He also questioned if the applicable law had been complied with.
The forestry department assured the Paphos Green’s that they would visit the site to investigate.
“Of course, whatever the answer we get, the damage is irreversible. The trenches were quickly filled in but the images taken before this happened speak for themselves,” he said.
“Of course, whatever the answer we get, the damage is irreversible. The trenches were quickly filled in but the images taken before this happened speak for themselves,” he said.
Unfortunately, this type of instance seems to be the norm in Paphos, with the Greens and environmentalists “running after the damage that has already been done,” he said.
“This is not how it should be in any circumstances. In this case, yes there is a plan to renovate the site and this is fine, but it has to be done carefully and without causing any damage. In one or two years all of those trees could be gone because of these actions,” he said.
