Cyprus, turtle sanctuary polluted by plastic
15 December, 2011
The sea-turtle sanctuary of Lara is completely covered with rubbish
(ANSAmed) - NICOSIA - The beach of Lara, close to the tourist resort of Paphos, on Cyprus' south-western coast, is one of the most well-known natural parks on the south-eastern Mediterranean island, a sort of sanctuary created to protect sea-turtles, but which has been seriously polluted by plastic waste.
Worse still, however, is the fact that the Greek Cypriot authorities have not only done nothing to clean up the area but have refused even to answer appeals from citizens and tourists. The condemnation, reported by local media, has come from the NGO Nireas Marine Research (NMR), which has issued a statement on the matter.
Many Cypriots and tourists have complained to the NMR of the severe plastic pollution on the beach where sea-turtles lay their eggs in August and September. "They have been shocked and disgusted by the dirt and rubbish in the area and wondered why the appropriate authorities are not acting," says the statement, adding that "a number of citizens have tried to phone the Paphos district office for the fishing and marine research department, but there has been no answer".
On the turtle beach, one of very few on the island where the reptiles still reproduce, there are no bins or rubbish containers and the area is not regularly cleaned up. "This means that turtles, who should be protected because they are close to extinction, are at risk of dying because they end up eating bits of plastic that they mistake for food," the NMR says.
"The sea-turtle sanctuary of Lara is completely covered with rubbish and there is not one square metre without plastic waste," says the NMR, which has peppered its report with a number of pictures taken on the beach and underwater photos taken in the sea on the site.
Lara Beach is a sea-turtle conservation project set up by the country's Ministry of Fishing and Marine Research (DFMR) in 1978 with the aim of protecting loggerhead and green turtles. It is clear from such a level of pollution, however, that the island's authorities are far from being in line with due standards. But the real reason for the neglect suffered by Lara Beach and disinterest shown by the authorities, environmental campaigners say, is that the bay where the beach is located, which is also part of the large natural park on the Akamas peninsula, has been coveted for more than 20 years by property speculators, who cannot wait to build up the area with villas and luxury hotels.
For this reason, environmentalists complaining about the situation have regularly been threatened and even physically attacked by local entrepreneurs, who in the greatest gangland tradition, refuse to respect the (hardly binding) building limits imposed to protect the beach and the turtles. This is demonstrated by only the latest episode in July, where the car owned by the environmentalist Myroula and Andreas Demetropoulos was set on fire by unknown individuals, with the aim of intimidating them and forcing them to remain silent.
Source: ANSAMed.
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