Orchids were violently uprooted

Environmentalists  have been angered by the erection of wire fences around the field in the south of Lefke European  University know as “Kireç Hill’. The Chairman of Lefke Environment and Introduction  Association. Enver Bildir, lecturer and researcher Ediz Tuncel , the Chairman of Green Peace Movement Doğan Sahir  and the Chairman of the Chamber of Tourist Guides Hasan Karlıtaş went to the venue abd made observations. The environmentalists pointed that the region should immediately be taken under protection. The organisations asked who took such a field for what reason and wanted the officials to declare who is responsible for the natural destruction. As a lecturer who knows the area very well, Ediz Tuncel said he has been making researches on this area for years but since the importance of the values of the country are not known well they are destructed unconsciously. Tuncel said: “This is a natural area full of endemics which can not be found anywhere else on the island. Especially cyprus Orchid is seen a lot in this area. It is not possible to see these species at this debsity anywhere else in cyprus. Some people placed wire fences around a large part of this field and uprooted the orchids violently. This destruction should immediately be stoped. This field belongs to CMC and under the responsibility of the state. It should be taken under protection as soon as possible. We called the officials of the Environmental Protection Bureau a few days ago. They came here, made observations and prepared reports. However, we know nothing about the afterwards of the reports. There has been a natural destruction here and the criminal should be penalised”.

The Chairman of Lefke Environment and Introduction Association, Enver Bildir implied that the land was given to someone else. Bildir said: “Since the area originally belongs to CMC and the Ministry of Finance holds all belongings of CMC, the responsible for this land is also     the Ministry of Finance. We suggested the ministry to give thi area under the control of LAU to protect and enliven the endemics. The lands of the university are neighbours with this area .  Instead of transferring  the land to a üniversity, they preferred giving it to individuals who destructed  the natural life. State officials should make an explanation to public”. The Chairman of the Chamber of Tourist Guides, Hasan Karlıtaş said there were rarely found orchid species in the area which are very important for special interest tourism. Karlıtaş suggested the government to take the area under protection for an environment friendly tourism. The Chairman of Green Peace Movement, Doğan Sahir said the area is an orphan piece of the country and asked officials to protect the endemic species. Sahir said the environmentalist NGOs focus on such problems but state officials leave these issues on dusty shelves and criminals are not punished.

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The Dilemma of Animal Parks

You might be surprised to learn that a pair of spotted hyenas lives just outside Nicosia on the road to Ayioi Trimithias-probably as incredulous as I was when I first heard.

Adopting the “seeing is believing” principle, I visited Melios Pet Park and found that , besides a pet shop selling macaws, a colourful array of smaller dirds, and various pets belonging to the rodent family, the park opened into a larger viewing space housing exotic birds and mammals.

Experiencing llamas native to South America and hyenas native to southern Africa in a park just, outside my hometown raises questions over 200-style establishments in Cyprus and animal welfare.

Menelaos Menelaou, founder of Melios Pet Park, has already applied fora zoo licence. Why does he consider it important to display such a collection of animals to the public?

The principal reason was that it educated people” who learn to  appreciate animals more,” as “it’s one thing seeing them from up close and quite another viewing them from the television”

Kyriacos Kyriacou, co-founder of Animal Responsibility Cyprus (ARC), disagrees,arguing that children and adults alike should learn to appreciate the animal kingdom by witnessing true animal behaviour and habitats not the illusion of the wild animal through cage bars.

For this reason,ARC has teamed up with the World Society for the Protection of Animals to promote the development of aneco-zoo in Cyprus, which , with the help of technology and participation of big national parks, would allow visitors to survey the animals in their natural environment, or one as close to it as possible.

At present, the proposed eco-zoo is still under consideration, but animal parks with limited space still exist around Cyprus –besides Melios Pet Park, there is also Paphos Bird Park- the only park currently holding a zoo licence-and other smaller establishments around the island

While creating environmental awareness and  an appreciation towards animal life on an island where wildlife is sparse is important , is it moral to [lace an animal from nature into a confined enclosure on the grounds of education?

To my query, Menelaou responded that animals in his park had either been imported from zoos in Europe or were born and raised in captivity-with the exception of some birds fromTanzania-thereby avoiding their direct removal from nature.

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Lemesos(Limassol)Port

Lemesos port is the largest port of the island , located on the South coast of Cyprus at a distance of 60km from Larnaka and Paphos International Airports. It has modern, specialized facilities and equipment to serve different categories of customers and different types of cargo as well as of ships and passengers, offering fast, safe, reliable and unimpeded links between the island and the outside world.

Lemesos port is a significant cruise centre. It is certainly one of the most important cruise centres in the Eastern Mediterranean and is included in the itineraries of many international cruise ships sailing in the region. It is also a permanent base for Cypriot-owned cruise ships which, seasonally carry out excursions in the region to the benefit of local and foreign tourists.

Services offered to travellers at Lemesos port include:

-Tourist information

-Customs and immigration facilities

-First aid station

-Foreign exchange

-Duty Free shops

-Cafeteria and mini market

-Card and coin operated telephones

-Transportation services(taxi with the rates based on taximeters and buses connecting the port with the town centre_

-Internet access facilities

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MONUMETS OF NATURE

Trees have to be more than a century old and  must belong to the category of “protected trees” under the legislation on trees to be officially classified as old-growth.

Designating a tree as “Monument of Nature”, the responsibility of which falls upon the Department of Forests and the Department of Forests of Town Planning and Housing, entails an evaluation of varying criteria, including the taxonomy, age rarity, and shape of the candidate.

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Akrotırı Turtlewatchan overvıew and great news!

The enthusıastıc volunteers to run Akrotiri Turtlewatch have just announced theır fıgures for last years season -55nests wıth more than 1.800 hatchlings returned safely back to the sea.

On the down side there were 24 dead turtles washed up around the Akrotiri peninsula which is not  news as more of them were breedıng females.

A couple of weeks ago, volunteers Bonnie and Tam Toward, were out for a walk when they came across an adult female loggerhead  turtle – she had been washed  up alive on cove 4, but had serious head injuries. She has been cared for by the Episkopi  Garrison vet and the Evdhimou Vet john Pieroua.

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