Newsroom
BirdLife Cyprus and Terra Cypria have issued a warning that Natura 2000 sites, the country’s most valuable areas for biodiversity, remain largely unprotected due to delays in legal protections.
Of the 37 Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) in Cyprus’s Natura 2000 Network, only 10 Protection and Management Decrees have been issued, five of which experts consider inadequate. The remaining 27 SACs still await the issuance of these decrees, which are crucial legal tools for establishing conservation goals and protective measures.
Regarding the 30 Special Protection Areas (SPAs), the Game and Fauna Service submitted draft Protection and Management Decrees to the Department of Environment in 2021. Despite this, the drafts remain pending with the Environmental Authority, amid what BirdLife Cyprus calls an “unjustifiably long delay.”
Instead of issuing the decrees, the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment has proposed giving legal status to existing management plans developed for these areas. However, these plans, especially for the SPAs, have been “left in drawers” since 2016 and require urgent revision to meet current conservation needs.
Environmental groups warn that delaying new decrees and legally adopting outdated management plans not only jeopardizes nature protection but also risks Cyprus’s compliance with European Union directives.
BirdLife Cyprus and Terra Cypria are calling on the ministry to promptly issue the necessary Protection and Management Decrees using up-to-date data, and to cease deferring its responsibilities for protecting Cyprus’s natural heritage.
