BRITISH HIGH Commissioner, Peter Millett, stressed the importance of environment protection at a reception on Wednesday night, saying that “protection of the environment requires close co-operation between the two sides”.
The reception, held at the British High Commission offices in the occupied north, was attended by environmentalists from both sides of the divide, representatives of the EU and turtle-watch students.
At the reception Millett made a speech saying: “what unites us is interest in the environment.”
He commented that during the four years he has been in Cyprus he has “travelled the length and breadth of this beautiful island” and is “convinced that Cyprus’ natural beauty is one of its key assets.”
“Protecting the environment is important for many reasons” he said “It’s important for your quality of life: to ensure that there is enough water, that the air is clean and to protect people from fires.
“But it’s also important for your economic welfare. Cyprus’ natural beauty is one of the key attractions for tourists. Cypriots must take care not to squander this advantage through unplanned, mass development.”
According to Millett, there are three crucial factors to environmental protection: Legislation, Awareness and Planning.
He said “you need a strong legal framework and demanding standards. Regulation must be effective. It must bite. There is no point having environmental legislation unless it is enforced against those who break the law.”
On the subject of awareness he said “every member of society needs to understand that they have a responsibility to themselves and to their fellow citizens. They need to conserve water and energy. They need to protest if they see a builder dumping broken bricks down a ravine.
“Planning he continued “means staying ahead of the game, anticipating new pressures, say, from tourist developments and bringing in new technology, new measures and taking action before damage becomes irreversible.”
He added that the European Union “has a vital role to play” and said that he was “pleased that steps are already being taken to harmonise policies with the EU.”
Millett commented that “protection of the environment clearly requires close co-operation between the two sides. Everyone on this island uses the same water and breathes the same air. To conserve these vital resources, the two communities need to work together.
“For this reason I am delighted that the Cyprus Environmental Stakeholder Forum was launched this year. Together they can address island-wide problems. I wish your work every success.
“I’m also pleased that the technical committee on the environment has made real progress, for example, agreeing important measures on water conservation, waste management and pollution control. I hope that these measures will be implemented quickly.”
Millett ended his speech with a toast, “To getting rid of the Green Line and bringing a Green Future to the whole island before it is too late.”
News of male turtle tagged for the first time emerges at environmental reception
News emerged at the event that students working to protect the islands turtle population have succeeded in tagging a male turtle for the first time.
Usually, only female turtles are tagged when they come ashore to lay their eggs. The electronic tag enables the turtle watchers to track the turtles online on the course of their travels around the Mediterranean.
But for the first time a male green turtle has been tagged. When the male turtle’s mate came ashore to lay her eggs, he was still on top of her.
After the eggs were laid the male, named Randal by his trackers, left the marital bed and, like the typical absent father, swam nonchalantly away.
Seaturtle.org states that “this male green turtle was still attached/trying to mate with a female as she dragged herself out of the sea to lay her clutch at Alagadi Beach on the 8th June 2009. He got quite a shock when a) he realised he was out of the sea and b) a satellite transmitter was attached.”
He has since been traced in Turkey, Syria and Egypt, where it is presumed he will stay for the foreseeable future. Wayne Fuller of the Marine Turtle Research Group commented that it would be “quite interesting to see what his movements are as we don’t know anything about the usual travelling patterns of male green turtles.”
