The marine environment of Kato Pyrgos Tillyria in the Nicosia district is in immediate danger from organic material being dumped in the sea, Cyprus conservation foundation Terra Cypria and Friends of the Earth Cyprus said in a statement on Tuesday.
The two organisations called on the environment department of the agriculture ministry to honour its commitment to terminate the systematic dumping of waste from the fishing shelter.
The ministry is also urged to take all necessary action to secure the fundamental right of public access to information concerning the environment.
In April 2021, a complaint was filed with the Republic of Cyprus and the European Environment Bureau (EEB) regarding marine pollution in the area.
Terra Cypria and Friends of the Earth Cyprus, both EEB members, have since become involved in investigating the complaint.
The complaint cited poor construction of the fishing shelter’s external jetty, the absence of a sewerage system in the area and the dumping of fishing shelter waste and sewerage in the sea, with detrimental effects on the marine environment, human health and public safety.
Every two or three years, the fishing shelter is dredged and sediment/liquid organic material is dumped, the organisations said.
In the framework of an ex officio investigation of the complaint by the House environment committee, the ministry said it would terminate the dumping of organic waste, which should be transported to an area on land and for processing.
The ministry also said further pollution of the sea of Kato Pyrgos with carcinogenic heavy metals and pathogenic bacteria would be avoided, the organisations added.
“However, this commitment does not seem to have been met,” they say and explained that on July 19, 2024, the public works department launched a tender for the dredging of the fishing shelters of Kato Pyrgos and Pomos – an EU-funded project worth €520,000.
Terra Cypria and Friends of the Earth Cyprus said that going ahead with the tender contravened the declarations of the government itself for setting up a ‘green community’ in Kato Pyrgos.
The two organisations raised a series of questions about the project and the policy observed and said the public should have access to the answers.
According to the law, they said, the authorities were obliged to provide the information requested.
They pointed out, however, that two-and-a-half months had passed and no reply had been received.
