Filenews 9 April 2021
"It started with the marina at Ayia Napa, then followed by the Paphos–Polis motorway and now, for the icing on the cake, comes the Astromeritis –Evrychos motorway", stresses the BirdLife Cyprus in a statement, referring to three projects that have uncovered a worrying pattern on the part of the state to invoke "public interest" in order to proceed with controversial developments at a heavy environmental cost.
''All three cases received a negative opinion from the Environmental Authority due to their serious impact on the environment (in particular in the Natura 2000 protected areas in which they are located). However, they proceed normally, without adequate consideration of alternatives as required by law, following a decision by the Council of Ministers to declare the projects to be of 'public interest'.
In the case of the most recent, concerning the Astromeritis – Evrychos motorway, part of which will pass through the Natura 2000 area 'Atsa-Agios Theodoros Area', the Environmental Authority has given its opinion that the project will have negative and irreversible consequences for bird species nesting or using the area. The main effects concern Kraga and Truluria, species which will lose 20% and 25% of their reproductive population respectively, but also Pefcotrasila, which will lose habitat from its food collection and over-wintring areas.
The effects on the above species are mainly due to the nature and size of the project, the loss and fragmentation of the habitat, the degradation of the ecological character of the area and the availability of food, as well as the permanent abandonment of the area due to nuisance. All this comes to the fore in a protected area which is already under pressure from the existing extensive road network and the existing and proposed photovoltaic parks.
The tendency of the State to invoke 'Imperative reasons of overriding public interest' to justify developments with serious environmental impact, without adequate consideration of alternatives, does not honour our country. For the first two cases, the European Commission has already pointed out that it is not satisfied with Cyprus' documentation in relation to the examination of alternatives and the invocation of public interest. The precedent that has now been set calls into question the credibility of the process for evaluating large-scale projects and raises serious concerns about the vision and the way in which "development" is promoted in our country.
It is undeniable to everyone that our countryside is sending out a distress signal. Urbanism is a scourge and rural and mountain areas suffer from abandonment and lack of prominence and promotion, this is undeniable. And where necessary, it is important to promote projects to upgrade existing infrastructure to ensure public safety and health. What is not at first sight obvious is that the 'solutions' that the State offers, with its grandiose 'development' projects at the expense of the comparative advantage of rural communities which are no more than the natural landscape, are not long-term solutions to these problems. One can imagine how rural Cyprus could really flourish if these sums were channelled to the communities themselves for real projects to tackle abandonment, such as projects to support agrotourism'.
Source: eyenews
