IN land abandoned almost 35 years ago thrives a whole ecosystem where nature is king. Winding across the island, slicing through hills of the Paphos forest, and dividing the capital, the UN buffer zone has become home to flourishing wildlife untouched since the invasion.
As flora and fauna thrive in three per cent of the island’s land without the interference of mankind, the natural environment that separates Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots was, until very recently, terra incognita.
With remnants of old shops, houses, and even rusty cars acting as reminders of the life that once existed in a place left behind by time, the area does not see any trace of human activity apart from regular UN patrols and the odd hunter or farmer that oversteps the line.
“Since 2005 we have been trying to find ways to get the two communities on both sides of the divide to co-operate,” explains UNDP Action for Corporation and Trust Environment Specialist, Nicolas Jarraud. “Natural heritage is a great starting point – it’s something both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots want to work to preserve.”
To this end, between the summer of 2007 and 2008, bicommunal groups of scientists went into no man’s land under UN escort in an attempt to discover the area through the changing seasons with support from The Cyprus Game Fund, Frederick University, the Turkish Cypriot Biologist Association and the University of Nicosia.
“Although there’s a farmer’s security line that extends a little way into the buffer zone, most of it has been left completely untouched. Things get really wild at the widest points which stretch over three kilometres,” says Jarraud. “It’s a shame to ignore all this beauty.”
The research escalated in some very interesting finds. “Two types of endemic flowers were discovered in the village near Mammari; the Cyprus Tulip (Tulipa cypria) and Cyprus Bee Orchid (Ophrys kotschyi). They are extremely rare only usually spotted in the Akamas region. They were found within the farmer security line and massive effort has since been made to educate local people living nearby on how to protect and grow them.”
But it’s not just flowers that have made the buffer zone their home. Over 200 Cyprus moufflon also roam wild in the area bringing to life the ghost village of Variseia near Pyrgos, a place characterised by houses with collapsed roofs scattered across several rolling hills. It’s an interesting statistic given that there are only 3000 Moufflon left on the whole island. “Every time we go there we spot a whole load of them, they obviously feel very safe there,” Jerraud explains.
Birds, snakes, and other threatened wildlife also take refuge in the strip of no man’s land- a place away from rampant tourism development and hunting. Buildings that were once home to Greek Cypriots are now lived in by owls, pigeons and rats.
With all sorts of breeds of abandoned dogs also roaming around the area like packs of wolves, there seems to be a new predator on the scene as nature is left to its own devices. “They’ve gone feral and wild as they revert to their instincts and even hunt down young Moufflon,” says Jerraud. But surely, in cases such as this, letting nature develop in its own wild ways is not necessarily a good thing?
“These dogs can carry Echinococcus tapeworm – a parasite that can affect other animals and even humans. Sometimes they do obviously cross over the boarder and it’s not really a welcome development but it’s very hard to control.” While the UN have in the past funded efforts to put bait down to de-worm the dogs, it’s been impossible to do so on a yearly basis.
And what will happen to all the animals and flourishing wildlife if the island is reunited? “It all depends on the outcome of peace talks. A sustainable environment programme to protect this natural habitat would be ideal before people move into the area. But at this stage, it’s just impossible to say what exactly will happen.”
