Pafos Live 24 May 2024
The certificate of excellence of the "Plastic-Free Beaches" network was officially secured by the SODAP beach of the Municipality of Pafos, as part of the initiative of the project "Keep Our Sand and Sea Plastic Free, Destination Zero Plastic in Cyprus", the TUI Care Foundation and the Cyprus Sustainable Tourism Association.
The "Plastic-Free Beaches" badge was received by the Deputy Mayor of Pafos, Christos Makariou, expressing his satisfaction and thanking all those who contributed to the success of the project.
In her address, the Commissioner for the Environment said that Pafos has taken very important steps, implementing various projects and actions that contribute to the protection of the natural environment and the promotion of its archaeological, historical and contemporary culture, and supporting environmental initiatives such as the current one. Today we are here, he said, "to be part of the solution and not part of the problem."
On the "plastic-free beach", the Cyprus Sustainable Tourism Association has installed a cooler for cold and free water and the Municipality of Paphos undertakes its maintenance and supply with drinking water, aiming to encourage visitors to avoid the unnecessary use of plastics, Theodosiou said. "Visitors are invited to have their own water containers, bottles, heaters as well as reusable containers for other beverages that will be supplied by the beach businesses and for this reason it is necessary for everyone to cooperate in this venture," he noted.
"The Office of the Commissioner for the Environment sees this initiative as a trigger for a more comprehensive sustainable management of our beaches and marine environment. Our goal is to find good practices to completely avoid the use of plastics on beaches", the Commissioner said, pointing out that this can only be achieved with synergies between all stakeholders of each coastal area, such as local authorities, owners of restaurants, cafes and hotels.
The Mediterranean Sea is facing one of the highest levels of plastic pollution in the world. "According to 2020 data, the stock of plastic accumulated in the Mediterranean Sea is about 1.2 million tons. He also added that marine pollution is due to severe anthropogenic pressures, to which agriculture, coastal activities, improper and/or inefficient solid waste management, shipping and the very strong tourism industry contribute.
Tourism is mentioned, as Theodosiou said, as the biggest factor aggravating the volume of litter on the beaches of the Mediterranean islands. Scientists note that due to this marine litter, the biodiversity of the Mediterranean is "definitely under threat", affecting at least 134 species. On the occasion of World Turtle Day today, the Commissioner for the Environment also said, sea turtles are an endangered species, mainly due to plastic pollution.
"More than 80% of the litter collected from the Cypriot coasts is plastic," he stressed, underlining that it is no coincidence that up to five times more rubbish is found on tourist beaches, with cigarette butts making up the majority of plastic waste (42.5%).
The Commissioner for the Environment noted that she feels a special responsibility and dedication to the protection and sustainable development of both the city and the province, as well as all areas of Cyprus.
In his address, the Deputy Mayor of Pafos and candidate for the Deputy Mayoralty, Christos Makariou, said that the Local Government of the city captures the messages of the times that increasingly urgently want the quality of life to be closely linked to the clean and healthy environment, an important element of which are the coasts and the sea. He also noted that today's ceremony is the culmination of a systematic effort by the Municipality of Pafos to offer its citizens clean beaches for a better quality of life.
In turn, the Executive Director of the TUI Care Foundation, Alexander Panczuk, spoke about the aim of the initiative "Keep Our Sand and Sea Plastic Free, Destination Zero Plastic in Cyprus" to bring together tourists, tourism businesses and residents to implement actions to reduce the consumption of single-use plastic in coastal areas. so that less plastic ends up in the sea, thus reducing plastic pollution.
Some of the facilities placed on the beach are the installation of a water cooler offering free ice and filtered water, a smoking point, information signs, as well as a work of art made from plastic waste made by students of the International School of Pafos in a cleaning campaign they had carried out a few months ago on the beach.
