THIRTY flamingos have died already this year in Larnaca many more are expected to perish if the Larnaca Salt Lake is not cleared of pollution and hunting continues in the area, a highly-placed source warned yesterday.
The source revealed to the Sunday Mail that the area near the salt lake has been transformed into a rubbish dump. “There is a shocking amount of rubbish that has been dumped on the banks of the salt lake and nobody is doing anything about it,” said the source.
The government has also been accused by environmentalists and deputies of ignoring the severe pollution that has infested the Larnaca Salt Lake, and is blamed for the deaths of 80 flamingos in less than two years.
The House Environmental Committee met on Friday to discuss the reasons for the contamination and what measures must be taken to prevent further pollution of the lake.
Most of the blame lies with hunters using a nearby shooting range to kill ducks, the committee found. Toxicological tests revealed that the flamingos had died from lead poisoning when they swallowed lead pellets fired into the lake by hunters. One dead bird was found to have 80 pellets in its stomach.
The spray of pesticides from nearby farms, sewage from neighbouring houses and the airport, toxic waste from the Aradippou industrial estate, fly tipping of rubbish and the flow of engine oil from the army camp are also contributing to the pollution.
Greens Party Leader George Perdikis who was present at the Committee meeting yesterday told the Sunday Mail that all those responsible for polluting the lake must be stopped.
“We believe a general clean up plan must be drawn up for the protection of the salt lake and the flamingos,” said Perdikis.
It was confirmed at the Committee meeting that army trucks were dumping their engine oil and waste onto the riverbanks, which then flow into the lake, as there is no specific drainage system.
House Environmental Committee Chairman Eleni Mavrou said that a letter would be sent to the Defence Ministry requesting that they take immediate measures so the army camp’s waste no longer pollutes the Salt Lake.
Despite the fact that the license for the shooting range near the Salt Lake expired in 2002 hunters still frequent the area. Mavrou said that this must also be stopped and that she will be sending a letter to the Interior Ministry requesting that a proper drainage system be built and join the one in Larnaca.
The representative of the General Laboratory, Stella Michaelidou, referred to the toxicological findings that showed a serious bacterial infection in the water, as well as a high concentration of lead and arsenic in the land near the airport and the army camp.
The Director of the Environmental Services Nicos Georgiades said that the government would have no choice but to go ahead with a new clean up scheme to preserve the Salt Lake.
