10 years of helping the sea

By Stefanos Evripidou

THE CYPRUS Marine Environment Protection Association (CYMEPA) celebrated its 10th anniversary yesterday with a Gala dinner held under the auspices of President Glafcos Clerides, and a £200,000 cheque from easyJet tycoon Stelios Haji-Iouannou.

“We are celebrating 10 years of voluntary commitment to save the seas while at the same time taking the opportunity to thank the initial and founding members who have been with us throughout those years,” said CYMEPA’s General secretary, Michalis Ierides.

Today, the group are organising an annual beach clean-up at 10 different locations on the island, covering both the coastline and the sea. A team of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot divers have been invited to carry out the underwater clean-up which will start at 10am this morning at Castella beach in Ayios Tychonas. UNOPS is sponsoring the bi-communal underwater event for the protection and preservation of the sea.

The group is an autonomous, non-profit organisation formed under the initiative of the International Shipping Community of Cyprus with the support of the commercial community. It began in 1992 following in the footsteps of its ‘elder sister’, the Greek equivalent, HELMEPA, which established itself in 1982.

“Its principal aim is to encourage and actively assist efforts to prevent all forms of pollution of the sea. The Association also helps seafarers and executives to be more aware of safety and the protection of the marine environment,” said Ierides. He added that with recent transformations people on land as well as at sea were eligible for training by the organisation. CYMEPA also initiates environmental projects and operates extensive public awareness campaigns, giving priority to the environmental education of schoolchildren.

Part of its manifesto includes giving support and assistance to the government in ratifying and implementing international conventions addressing the protection of the marine environment.

The group was given a special anniversary present yesterday by visiting easyJet tycoon, Stelios Haji-Iouannou, who handed them a £200,000 cheque. Ierides told the Cyprus Mail he was delighted with the gesture.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.