EC report says Cyprus has good beaches, too many birds trapped

Despite some progress on illegal bird trapping in Cyprus, numbers are still unacceptably high, the latest Environmental Implementation Review (EIR) of the European Commission said.

The report, published on Friday, found that insufficiencies also remain on the designation of the terrestrial part of the Natura 2000 network but that Cyprus has “several examples of sound fiscal measures on the environment” to show. Moreover, there are significant insufficiencies at sea, especially in the offshore marine areas, the report said.

“The effective protection of Natura 2000 areas — especially coastal zone — from incompatible activities or developments that fragment or degrade them, remains a concern,” the report said.

It added that management plans for these areas must be completed and properly implemented and all necessary environmental assessments carried out correctly before potentially damaging plans or projects can be approved.

Some progress has been made on the illegal trapping of birds thanks to increased enforcement and stricter fines for mist-netting in legislation, it said, “however, the trapping numbers are still unacceptably high.”

Cyprus however, has some “examples of good practice” to show.

“According to the European Environment Agency report on European bathing water quality, in 2017, 97.3 per cent of Cyprus’ 113 bathing waters were of excellent quality and none were of poor quality,” it said.

It added that Cyprus has used LIFE funds effectively to establish its Natura 2000 network which now covers 28.8 per cent of the land area which is way above EU average – 18.1 per cent – and to implement conservation measures at specific sites.

Cyprus’ revenue from environment-related taxes is also above the EU average, it said, adding that “consumption and environmental tax revenues are high, making Cyprus’ tax structure relatively growth and environment friendly.”

It also notes several examples of sound fiscal measures on the environment, such as the domestic and irrigation water pricing policy, supported by environmental NGOs and academia.

Another example is the considerable progress being made on reducing the ‘diesel differential’ (difference in the price of diesel versus petrol) since 2005.

“On environmental information, the first-rate air quality portal can be an example for other environmental areas,” it said.

On the Timber Regulation, between March 2015 and February 2017, Cyprus “performed more checks on operators for both domestic and imported timber than was originally planned and carried out the most checks of any member state during this period.”

There has been some progress on waste management, it said, as the strategic framework for waste is now in place and the national waste management plans for all waste streams have been adopted. It called for proper rehabilitation of the illegal landfills in Limassol and Nicosia that have closed down.

According to the report, there is a significant delay in the adoption and implementation of the new economic instruments have been set out in the national waste management plan.

Cyprus, it said, needs to make significant efforts to establish an adequate network of facilities that would effectively manage all of its waste in line with the waste hierarchy if it is to reach the 2020 targets and even higher recycling targets.

According to the Commission’s 2018 ‘early warning report’, Cyprus is at risk of not meeting the 2020 municipal waste recycling target of 50 per cent.

On water management, Cyprus has made some progress, by adopting its second river basin management plan (RBMP) and putting in place a new water pricing policy that covers some water services. However, significant gaps remain in monitoring programmes.

The report also said it remains to be seen if the new legal framework on water pricing provides adequate incentives for users to use water efficiently, as adequate metering and volumetric charging of abstractions are limited.

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