Push to reduce human footprint in Pyla and Xylotymbou
On Friday, September 27, the coastal cleanup campaign within the British bases from Pyla to Xylotymbou fishing shelter, was held for the fourth consecutive year. The goal of the campaign was to reduce the human footprint on the area’s beaches, contributing to the creation of a healthier environment for both nature and people.
The campaign involved cleaning the coastline from Pyla beach-CTO (Cyprus Tourism Organisation) lights to the Agios Nikolaos fishing shelter in Xylotymbou village within the bases, as well as an underwater cleanup at the fishing shelter.
The campaign was organised by the British bases administration in Dhekelia in collaboration with bases’ police and with the participation of the military personnel, marine unit, bases customs and fire services. Community councils of Pyla and Xylotymbou, Dhekelia Sub-Aqua Club, and the environmental non-profitable organisation Enalia Physis Environmental Research Centre also contributed to the effort.
With the participation of 140 volunteers and under the scientific guidance of Enalia Physis, a total of 437kg of marine litter was collected, with the largest proportion (54 per cent) consisting of single-use plastics.
The success of the campaign highlights the importance of collaboration between local authorities, environmental organisations, and the community in preserving our marine environment and beaches for future generations.
The Area Administration Officer Dhekelia (AAOD), George Kiteos, noted: “It has now become a tradition for AAOD to organise this campaign, and every year we witness such tremendous support from all those involved. Ι would like to thank all the volunteers and our partners for their support, specifically the military personal of the Dhekelia station and the 1 Rifles Battalion, the SBA police and customs, the SBA administration, the community councils of Pyla and Xylotymbou, the Dhekelia Sub-Aqua diving club, and of course, the Enalia Physis Environmental Research Centre, who came together and supported our efforts in this clean up campaign.”
He said the groups managed to cover a distance of over three kilometres, starting from the Pyla CTO lights to the Xylotymbou fishing shelter, where the divers also cleaned the seabed of the fishing shelter.
“We managed to collect 76kgs of waste from the seabed, including old tyres, fishing gear, plastic bags, cups, and more, along with 361kgs of waste from the coast! It is crucial to understand that we must keep the environment we live in clean and realise that the quality of our lives depends on the quality of our environment,” he added.
“Protecting the environment and respecting it is everyone’s responsibility, not just that of environmentalists. The environment is a valuable part of our heritage, and it is our duty to protect it by all means possible so that future generations can enjoy it too,” said Marios Papageorgiou, researcher and executive director of the Enalia Physis Environmental Research Centre.
“Today, we are all experiencing the consequences of climate change, especially through more frequent extreme weather events, such as prolonged heatwaves. From reducing plastic waste to supporting research and conservation efforts, we have the power to safeguard our natural resources for the future. The data we collected from the clean-up allow us to understand the origin of marine litter and to target our future actions towards effectively reducing it, as well as raising public awareness.”
The community councils of Pyla and Xylotymbou supported this significant effort by collecting the gathered waste.
