Filenews 23 December 2021 - by Angelos Nikolaou
In the context of the adoption of the Commission's comments on the completion of the Natura 2000 Network, a proposal for the inclusion of two new areas in the Network was submitted by the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, and approved by the Council of Ministers, during its last session. These are the areas "Kalavasos Mine" of an area of 47 hectares and "Potamos Gialias" of an area of 93 hectares.
It should be noted that the Commission initiated a new infringement procedure, in the context of which it forwarded to the authorities of the Republic of Cyprus a letter of formal notice in May 2018 and a reasoned opinion in October 2020 for the inadequate definition of the entire Natura 2000 Network in Cyprus, with a clear reference to terrestrial natural and semi-natural habitat types, as well as species of wild flora and fauna that are not sufficiently covered by the existing areas.
The special Scientific Committee established on the basis of Article 4 of the Nature and Wildlife Protection and Management Laws of 2003 to 2015, had drafted and submitted to the Minister of Agriculture two opinions on the inclusion of the areas "Kalavasos Mine" and "Gialias River" in the list of areas of environmental importance, with a view to preserving the habitats and species of flora and fauna of Annexes I and II, that are found in the area. To this end, the Commission had assessed the importance of the two areas, in accordance with articles of these Laws, and came up with their proposed demarcation.
The opinion on the inclusion of the two new sites in the list of areas of environmental importance was made on 5/10/2021. Then on 11/11/2021 the Minister announced the designation of the two new areas with publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic as proposed Sites of Community Importance and set a period of objections of one month that expired on 12/12/2021. No objections were submitted and therefore at the meeting of the Council of Ministers on 21/12/2021 the minister's proposal for the addition of the two areas to the final list of areas of environmental importance of Cyprus was approved.
The importance of the area "Kalavasos Mine"
The opinion on the inclusion of the Kalavasos Mine area was drafted following a decision of the Scientific Committee taken in July 2021.
The natural habitats of Community interest of Annex I, which are found in the Kalavasos Mine area, are thermal-mediterranean and pre-desert scrubs (habitat type 5330), olive and carob forests (habitat type 9320) and Mediterranean pines (habitat type 9540). All three habitats are an important example of typical characteristics of a Mediterranean biogeographical region in the Republic. Habitat 5330 covers an area of 3.43 ha, habitat 9320 covers an area of 33,349 hectares and habitat 9540 7,345. The overall value assessment of the area for the habitats is good. The conservation status and restoration potential is good for habitats 5330 and 9320 and moderate for habitat 9540.
The species of Community interest of Annex II found in the area are bat species Myotis emarqinatus with 250 -300 individuals, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum with 5-10 individuals and Rhinolophus hipposideros with 30-50 individuals. The three species are considered to be an unsupported population, except on the outskirts of the area. All three species are considered vulnerable in the Republic, while the first two species are rare in the Republic. It is worth noting that for M. Emarginatus, the Kalavasos Mine is the only area where the species reproduces in Cyprus.
According to the Standard Data Form, there are also 36 species of birds referred to in Article 4 of Directive 2009/147/EC and 27 other important plant species in the area.
Protection of the river turtle
The opinion on the area "Potamos Gialias" was drafted following a decision of the Scientific Committee that was also taken in July 2021. The area covers the communities of Nisou, Pera Chorio, Kotsiatis, Agia Varvara, Mathiatis and Lythrodontas, with a total area of 93,392 hectares.
The natural habitats of Community interest of Annex I, which are found in the area are Mediterranean Rivers with periodic flow from Paspalo-Agrostidion (3290) extending to an area of 0.028 hectares, Scrublands Ziziphus lotus (5220) in an area of 0.063 ha, Thermo-Mediterranean and pre-desert scrubs (5330) covering 9,556 hectares, Phrygana with Sarcopoterium spinosum (5420) of an area of 13,144 hectares, Xerophytic grasslands of the Mediterranean with grasses and annuals (6220 Thero-Brachypodietea) area of 0,001 hectares, Wet Mediterranean grasslands with high potholes from Molinio Holoschoenion (6420) of an area of 0,593 hectares, Silicate rocky slopes with yawning vegetation (8220) of an area of 0.128 hectares, Forests – galleries with Salix alba and Populus alba (92A0) of an area of 0.603 hectares, riparian arcades and clusters of the South (92D0) of an area of 14,147 hectares and pines of the Mediterranean (9540) of an area of 28.57 hectares.
Furthermore, the species of Community interest of Annex II, found in the area are the species of the mauremys rivulata river turtle with an estimated population of 200-250 individuals and the endemic subspecies of Cypriot waterfinum Natrix natrix cypriaca which was recorded in the area very recently.
Other important species, found in the area, according to the standard data form are 56 species of birds mentioned in Article 4 of Directive 2009/147/EC and 26 other important species of birds, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, insects and plants.
For the protection of the river turtle, special reference was made to the reasoned opinion. 30/10/20, where it was noted that the investigation of a possible extension of the Natura 2000 area "Alykos Potamos-Agios Sozomenos" is pending, which would improve the coverage of the tables of article 17 in the wider area of Nicosia. It was characteristically mentioned that no sites have been proposed based on the ICOSTACY LIFE project (2010-2014). With the inclusion of the new area, the protection status of the species is greatly upgraded, while this species, as well as the Cypriot waterfowl, are the subject of extensive research in the framework of the LIFE IP Physis project (LIFE 18 IPE/CY/000006).
