Absence of a government vision for the environment

Statement by AKEL MP Nikos Kettirou and Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on the Environment, following the examination of the Environment Department’s Budget in the Parliamentary Finance and Budget Committee

5 November 2021

We discussed today in the Parliamentary Finance and Budget Committee the submission of the Budget for the Environment Department, which does not exceed €12 million in total.

What is absolutely clear is the absence of any vision in the environmental policy being pursued by this government. How is it possible that all the funds related to construction projects for the environment are zeroed out?

It is important to note that not everything that should have been done regarding animal welfare has been done.  In the end, their verbal pro-animal sentiments are only expressed in pictures on World Animal Day posted on Instagram and Tik Tok.

No mention, either, of the Akamas peninsula issue. We wonder why they arent considering transferring funds there to conduct a real survey/study resulting in management plans for the areas and hence issuing ordinances to actually implement them?

Among the Ministry’s strategic objectives for the environment, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and adaptation to climate change are noted inter alia.  However, we have not seen any measures taken towards this end. We have not seen funds allocated for projects and actions beyond studies.

It is also outrageous that after 8 years of discussions on inflammable substances, the solution that the government has provided is to move the problem from one region to another.

Moreover, Cyprus is filled with small rubbish dumps. Everywhere you look you see waste, in riverbeds, on cliffs, around livestock farms and on the outskirts of local communities and urban centres.  This is due to the government’s failure to implement the Waste Management and Process Act based on the European Directive framework.

It is noteworthy that any mention of marine pollution is completely absent from the Environment Department’s Budget. No mention is made of any possible projects and actions around this long-standing problem. The problem of the pollution of our seas is certainly not new, but the problem is really acute. Responsibility for monitoring marine activities and protecting the marine environment is divided between various government agencies. The fragmentation of these responsibilities on the one hand, but also the lack of any real will to assume political responsibility and take action on the other, have brought matters to the point that we have been experiencing in recent days.

We express our deep concern about the lack of vision in environmental policy over the last 8 years by the current government, but also about the all-out attack on the environment by illegal developments, the destruction of protected habitats and the fragmented implementation of legislation regarding nature protection networks