Filenews 13 January 2024 - by Dora Christodoulou
The long-awaited Akamas National Park and the new Local Plan of the peninsula may continue to be blurred, with decisions constantly reversed, with delays following one another, with preparatory works stalled due to poor execution, however, behind the big picture, the smaller pieces that will create the big puzzle are quickly falling into place. In the communities of Akamas themselves, at the same time, projects of cultural and environmental importance are being created one after the other, contributing to a new reality that is directly related to the living of people in the region.
The volume of projects in the communities of the peninsula has been particularly intense in the last year. Just two months after the inauguration of works in Arodes, Kathika and Drouseia by the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides returns to the peninsula to inaugurate three more projects, this time in the area of Ineia.
These are specifically the Thematic Route "Aphrodite", the regeneration of the core of the community and the Exhibition and Educational Center of Turtle.
The Aphrodite Thematic Route project was funded by the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility and implemented under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, while the other two projects were funded by national funds.
The Turtle Museum has been completed for a few years, while recently it was equipped with the necessary equipment for its operation. The Community Authority also hired the special associate who will be in charge of the museum space and now the long-awaited project has opened its gates to visitors.
The three new projects that will be inaugurated on January 20 by the President of the Republic, complete the frame of interventions that have changed the communities of Laona in recent years. Inia, Arodes, Kathikas, Drouseia, Neo Chorio, have now created projects with an environmental and cultural direction, in order to highlight the unique particularity of Akamas and its communities, they are moving forward regardless of the difficulties that have been going on for years now regarding the final solution in the peninsula, improving everyday life and creating a future for themselves.
In Arodes, the Akamas Centre of Geology and Palaeontology is already complete and visitable, while the hiking and cycling routes and the small observatory have taken turn, the contracts for the implementation of which have already been signed by the District Governor of Pafos.
The cost for these projects amounts to more than half a million euros and the duration of the project is 12 months.
Information Centre for Birds and Flora
Unique in Cyprus, is the Akamas Bird and Terrestrial Flora Information Centre, which was completed in Kathikas. The total cost of the project amounts to approximately €350,000, disbursed from the state budget.
According to the District Officer of Pafos, Mary Lambrou, the project includes information areas with signs, as well as exhibits on the bird fauna and terrestrial flora and habitats of Akamas. It is the old building of SPE that was granted for a long time to the Community Council of Kathikas.
The halls were designed into sectors and themes, which include a variety of floor installations, ceiling suspensions, interactive exhibits, dioramas, i.e. life-size depiction of nature, facilities and infrastructure for touch screens and other digital tools in relation to terrestrial ecosystems and the bird fauna of Akamas. The exhibits are accompanied by explanatory texts, photographs, video projections, interactive media, games and more.
