Locations
Technical Committee on Environment
Cooperation for exchange of experience & information between environmental experts
Objectives
Environmental issues in Cyprus run island-wide and do not conform to the physical division. It is therefore critical for environmental experts from both parts of the island to keep each other informed and exchange experiences on measures being taken streamline efforts towards climate action.
Through the implementation of this Action, the Committee looked to adopt intercommunal solutions to address common environmental concerns. More specifically, this Action aimed to create a mechanism for environmental experts from both Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities to exchange experiences and information as well as identify mutually necessary environmental projects critical for the island's well-being for future implementation (project currently continuous under Phase II).
Results
A key part of the Action was to design and publish a website that would act as an information sharing platform for experts and the general public (www.tcecyprus.org). The website contains an ecological database, an archive on environmental peacebuilding documents and a bi-communal expert database with categorised thematic areas. Moreover, a networking platform for experts from both communities to communicate has been established through this website.
A second activity critical for the Action to materialise was the organisation of bi-communal field visits with members of the Technical Committee on Environment and technical experts from both communities to assess environmental issues. A report was produced for each assessment visit, including an action plan of recommendations for addressing priority environmental issues.
Six thematic areas were identified for these environmental assessment visits. Two assessment visits were planned for each of the identified thematic areas, one per community. Each visit concludes with a meeting where all experts discuss observations and findings from the field visits and agree on recommendations for priority areas. These discussions are recorded by UNDP's technical team. Following the visits and de-briefing discussions, assessment reports are produced, highlighting the current situation in the relative thematic area and environmental challenges faced by the communities. Additionally, these reports include identification of certain areas for collaboration among the communities and propose potential project ideas for the Technical Committee to push forward. More than 200 experts from both communities have participated in these field trips and continue to do so.
The table below lists all field trips conducted to date:
Thematic Group | Field Visit | Date |
Water Treatment | Mia Milia / Haspolat Sewage Treatment Plant | 04/11/2020 |
Urban Environment | Pedieos river/ Kanlı dere | 29/12/2020 |
Urban Environment | Klimos river/ Acı river | 29/12/2020 |
Nature Protection | Akamas Peninsula | 09/10/2021 |
Mining & Quarrying | Agrokipia-Mitsero-Lefke/Lefka Mining area | 27/11/2021 |
Nature Protection | Kormakitis / Kormacit: Saving the Carob trees | 19/02/2022 |
Waste Management | Dikmen / Dikhomo & Kochi Landfill Sites | 04/06/2022 |
Air Quality | Nicosia AURA Monitoring Station | 22/09/2022 |
Biodiversity | Varisha & Selemani Visit | 11/01/2023 |
Biodiversity | Vulture Nesting Site Visit/ Paphos & Limassol | 03/06/2023 |
Inclusion of youth and NGOs | Engagement with Youth/LCOY | 29/03/2023 - 27/08/2023 |
Biodiversity | Turtle Conservation Site Visit/ Alagadi beach, Kyrenia | 17/09/2023 |
Biodiversity | Turtle Conservation Site Visit and Networking Event / Akamas | 11/11/2023 |
Upon identifying its priorities, the Technical Committee has actively sought out areas that require cooperation between the two communities on a variety of environmental topics. The proposals include consultations with NGOs and experts from each community.
Proposals prepared during the implementation period:
Environmental Innovation Challenge Competition proposal: Through this innovation challenge competition, the Technical Committee is aiming to solve urgent environmental problems that require joint solutions, bring communities together, and motivate the best-placed, most diverse sets of people on the island to take action.
Wildfires Avoidance Measures Strategy proposal: This proposal's aim is to bring together Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot volunteer groups to form teams ready to act in the event of a fire outbreak, as well as to propose a set of indicative environmentally friendly best practices for the entire island, with the goal of developing a common strategy for preventing wildfires and establishing early warning (GIS), avoidance measures.
Protection and preservation of Carob Trees proposal: The proposed pilot project is for the preservation and protection of selected trees in a particular area in the Buffer zone. The proposal aims to strengthen social cohesion by promoting cooperation between Turkish and Greek Cypriots, as well as to protect and preserve natural heritage and to address climate change.
Exploring the Geological Heritage of Cyprus: Research and Development Project proposal: The aim of this project is to develop an entertaining method for promoting geo-education and raising public awareness about the island's geological heritage, as well as to motivate young people to experience Cyprus's shared geological heritage and engage them with nature through gamification.
Saving the Griffon Vulture from Extinction proposal: This is a proposal for reducing the environmental impact of illegal poison use by controlling the rodent population. The project includes poison use monitoring, vulture tagging (GPS), a study on Griffon vulture nesting and foraging capacity (GIS), and a general awareness-raising campaign.
Environmental Caretakers - Empowering Youth on Environment: This project aims to inform and empower youth to become proactive participants in environmental stewardship. By training young individuals (15-35) to observe and report environmental issues that they encounter in their daily lives, a network of informed and engaged environmental caretakers will be created who could contribute to the preservation and improvement of ecosystems.
Preserving Biodiversity- Analysing Poison Use in Remote Wildlife Habitats: A project to study and analyse the reasons and extent of the use of poison by local population across the island. The study will identify the reasons behind the use of poison in the countryside, propose incident analysis methodologies, create demonstration sites for poison alternatives, coordinate efforts to improve mitigation strategies and strengthen the collaboration among relevant stakeholders.
Exploring the Geological Heritage of the island of Cyprus: The project aims to promote geo-education and raise public awareness on geological heritage of the island of Cyprus, motivating young people to discover the shared heritage and connect with nature through gamification.
Other initiatives that were conceptualized during this time period include:
o Turtle Ecosystem Preservation Project: Marine ecology with NGOs from both communities as local implementing partners
o Integrated Island Wide Pest Management: Pine Processionary Moth/Caterpillar and Babutsa Sigas - proposing environmentally friendly measures to combat invasive species in forests
o Pyrolytic Garbage Dump/Landfill Fires Assessment: Assessment and knowledge transfer to eliminate/minimize landfill fires.
o Pruning of Carob and Fruit Trees in Buffer zone to protect biodiversity: A pilot event to prune some of the fruit trees in the buffer zone, ensuring protection of trees and improving biodiversity.
These proposals have the potential to further improve networking and cooperation among experts from both communities while addressing the common environmental problems Cyprus is facing.
The Technical Committee on Environment’s project is a positive example of effective collaboration and cooperation in addressing environmental challenges. Their efforts demonstrate the importance of working together to ensure a sustainable environment for whole of Cyprus.
