NATURA 'WINS' AND ENDS POSSIBILITY OF FISHING SHELTER AT GEROSKIPOU, FOLLOWING ON FROM FAILURE OF THE ROAD

 Filenews 25 April 2021 - by Dora Christodoulou

A tombstone in the grandiose planning of the Municipality of Geroskipou for the creation of a fishing shelter at the mouth of the river of Esousa, put definitively by the Ministry of the Environment, since the area is part of Natura and therefore any planning for projects at the site, is excluded. So, after the second section of the new avenue to Paphos airport has also stopped because of the ecological importance of the area, another project in the area  of Geroskipou meets a brick wall because of Natura.

The aim of the Municipality of Geroskipou was a project with a capacity of about 50 vessels, which would be the first of its kind in the province of Paphos, where fishing vessels would be mainly accommodated and a study has already been carried out by the National Technical University of Athens.

According to the study, the main principles of the project were that the construction of the shelter would not interfere with the flow and estuary of the river Esousa. The bed is huge anyway, the scholars pointed out, with crocs of river origin and most of the area dormant due to the construction of the Cannavi dam.

They also pointed out that no additional coastal mechanical hazards would be created, the projects would take into account an existing underground sewage pipeline of the Paphos Drainage Council heading towards the adjacent biological station and would shield the seabed and deal with any issues relating to the aquifer.

"All projects will be judged by an environmental study", the Polytechnic University's report stated, "the execution of external projects at sea, e.g. proboscy, will be studied in order to reduce the likelihood of the port basin being flooded or causing other adverse effects and the project being consistent with the proposed projects of the system of vessels designed and used in the area".

An important aspect of the design was the commercial exploitation of the land area rather than the project, where a development similar to that created in the land areas of the marinas was planned, but on a smaller scale. The study pointed out, in particular, that the prospect in land space was to create a limited infrastructure for hospitality and other enrichment uses, such as fish taverns, environmental observatories, rowing and others.

Since 2017, the Municipality of Geroskipou has submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment two preliminary solutions for the design, in order to promote the process of implementation of the project. These plans, however, are now definitively put in the "fridge" after the response of those responsible and in the light of the inclusion of the area in Natura.