Birdlife has called on the government to implement proper management planning for Paralimni lake after the Natura 2000 protected site was drained without authorisation over recent days.
“We suspect the earth barrier that blocks the drainage channel was opened on Saturday” Cyprus Birdlife director Martin Hellicar told the Cyprus Mail.
The lake’s natural outlet to the village is controlled by an artificial barrier made of dunes after a problem occurred with the previous barrier.
“Some people keep opening it” said Hellicar.
The non-profit organisation contacted the environment department, responsible for the Natura protected site and the earth barrier was put back in place on Wednesday.
The phenomenon started happening last year before Birdlife intervened. According to the NGO’s director, the lake was drained five times in just four months this year. “We sent letters and protested multiple times,” he said.
The earth barrier can only be removed with a digger. Sources told the Cyprus Mail that local authorities were the ones opening the barrier after receiving pressure from local residents about mosquitoes in the area.
The environment department is responsible for the lake and for issuing licences for irrigation to municipalities who are allowed to open the barriers for this purpose.
However, the department is said to be investigating the complaints regarding the unauthorised openings of the barrier.
According to Hellicar, “there’s a lot of illegalities going on there, people driving their motorbikes on the lake, throwing garbage and there is a shooting range operating nearby.”
He called for the government to take action and implement a proper management plan for the draining of the lake, taking into consideration locals’ complaints about mosquitoes.
“The decisive factor needs to be the protection of the site as Natura 2000,” he said.
Paralimni lake is one of Cyprus most important wetlands and part of the Natura 2000 protection sites. It is home to the rare grass snake Natrix-natrix cypriaca which can only be found on the island as well as a number of rare eurasian and endemic plants. It is also an important breeding site for spur-winged lapwings.
Conservationist Hellicar believes the lake could become a tourist attraction, if departments put the effort to convert the plan from theory into practice and take care of the area.
