13/09/2014
Beaches’ audit reveals chaos
Beaches’ audit reveals chaos According to the report the Cyprus Beach Committee is unable to effectively oversee the island’s coastlines
By Constantinos Psillides
THERE is a total lack of coordinated management when it comes to the island’s beaches, a lack of oversight by local authorities, a lack of environmental policies, and unchecked development, Auditor-general Odysseas Michaelides said yesterday.
In a lengthy audit of the situation, he called on the interior ministry to take action.
According to the report, made public yesterday, the competent authority, the Cyprus Beach Committee, is unable to effectively oversee the island’s coastlines, opting instead to delegate the task to local authorities.
“There is no approved, general course of action on how to best manage a beach. Community and municipality councils decide on how to best manage a beach and their decisions vary depending on the situation,” said the report, adding that prices and public services varied from beach to beach.
The report also noted that employees in district offices tasked with carrying out inspections on beaches almost never do; in some cases local authorities didn’t even bother with appointing anyone to that post.
Michaelides argues that properly managing Cyprus’s beaches could yield significant revenue. The Auditor-general said that awarding tenders through murky procedures discouraged competition, resulting in loss of income for the state.
The non-existent policy on how to manage beaches also took its toll on the environment, according to the report.
A list with endangered species is yet to be drafted, a violation of EU law. The Auditor-general notes that Cyprus’ policy on protecting sea turtles and the Mediterranean seal has been rated by the EU as “bad” and “insufficient”.
The report also notes that Cyprus is in constant violation of EU law when it comes to nature reserves, since beaches included in the Natura 2000 protected zones have not been specified by state decree.
Cyprus has been warned by the EU on the subject repeatedly, it added.
Michaelides said the island’s runs the risk of being fined for its delay to designate the Natura 2000 protected areas. The nature reserve plans cannot move forward since Akamas residents are heavily protesting the fact that their properties are included in the nature reserve. No government has been able to resolve the issue for the last 10 years.
The report also hints at a possible scandal, saying a local authority issued a building permit for a golf course which is partly located inside the Natura 2000 zone.
The violation occurs in area near a green turtle nesting area, according to the report.
Questions were also raised regarding the policy on mapping out conservation areas. Local authorities, Michaelides said, tended to issue development permits in supposedly protected areas without adequate justification, and even in cases were a violation occurs the violators are not punished.
In a large number of cases, developers filed for a permit after they began construction within the protected area, while others appear to not file for building permits at all. According to the report, government officials have been very tolerant towards violators, preferring to cover up for them instead of reporting them.
The report also sheds light on boats’ waste disposal. Michaelides noted that the responsibility for monitoring proper waste disposal by boats is spread across too many services, with no clear indication as to who is in charge. Regular inspections are not carried out and no one was ever punished for violating the law.
It concludes that a lack of national policy on managing the coastline hurts everyone involved.
