The Department of Environment has issued a negative Special Ecological Assessment (SEA) for a resort development comprising 69 villas, a reception building and a biological sewage treatment station planned for Akamas municipality.
The proposed project would cause significant direct and cumulative impacts on the sensitive environment of the Akamas Peninsula, within and near Natura 2000 areas, according to the SEA report.
Examination of the 2022 planning application file revealed that the proposed project, which covers an area exceeding 100,000 square metres, falls within a tourist zone (T3β) but borders and, at certain points, falls within Natura 2000 protected areas “Special Area of Conservation Akamas Peninsula” and “Special Protection Area Akamas Peninsula”.
The disputed plots of the development, specifically 13 plots in the Peyia municipal district, were located within a white zone during the period 2005-2018, but were subsequently incorporated into a tourist zone, making the submission of an application for a large-scale project feasible.
The SEA report, prepared based on European Directive 92/43/EEC and nature conservation legislation, documents that the proposed project could cause irreversible environmental impacts during both construction and operation.
Among the most serious impacts analysed are loss of habitats due to vegetation clearing that preceded the submission of the application, noise pollution and light pollution that may affect the egg-laying of protected turtle species, increased human presence and visitorship in the wider area intensifying environmental burden, and cumulative impacts from other existing or planned developments.
The committee that assessed the study, which included experts from the Department of Environment, the Department of Forests, the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research, the Game and Fauna Service, as well as environmental organisations such as the Cyprus Federation of Environmental Organisations, BirdLife Cyprus and Terra Cypria, concluded unanimously that the project cannot proceed without causing substantial damage to the conservation objectives of Natura areas.
The report states clearly that vegetation clearing took place before the submission of the application, between August 2021 and May 2022, a fact that raises questions about the legality of these actions and whether they were carried out with the required permit or oversight.
