THE Pentadaktylos Mountains above Nicosia are facing the threat of total destruction from uncontrolled blasting at quarries, with large swathes of the range already having disappeared.

Environmentalists warn that the range – famed for its five finger peaks cutting between Nicosia and Kyrenia – will soon unrecognisable unless urgent action is taken.

An estimated 2,650,000 square metres of forest and land have been savaged for the quarries – all churning out huge volumes of sand, stone, gypsum and other materials for the construction industry – much of it sold to the Republic.

“The quarrying is conducted in both an illegal and unorthodox way, which adds to our fears that irreparable damage has already been inflicted,” Efi Xanthou, from the Cyprus Greens-Citizens Cooperation told the Sunday Mail.

It is unclear how many quarries are currently in operation, but estimates range between 17 and 36.

Former environment commissioner Charalambos Theopemptou says reports suggest about fifty-percent of the quarry material from the north is transported over the Green Line and sold to developers and builders in the Republic.

“The Turkish Cypriot traders have a great price advantage as they do not have any costly environmental regulations to follow and they don’t charge VAT,” Theopemptou told the Sunday Mail.

“On the other hand the government keeps licensing marinas with villas in the water without concern as to where all the solid rocks needed to build all these villas, artificial islands and roads into the water will be found.

“Of course the construction industry is no longer at its peak, but we have the time to find a solution to this. I fear that if a solution to the Cyprus problem is found before finding a solution to this problem, together we will demolish whole mountains in the name of the so called development,” he added.

Pollution from the hundreds of lorries servicing the quarries is also causing upset, as road surfaces deteriorate and traffic jams increase on the winding mountain roads.

Xanthou said fears of erosion and mudslides are also a ‘real possibility’ as no environmental studies have been conducted.

“The catastrophe is clear to the naked eye even from across the Green Line. We have taken initiatives to indirectly put pressure on the so-called “TRNC” through the EU Parliament and Commission and through foreign embassies in the Republic of Cyprus but to no avail,” she added.

The regulation of the quarries falls under the remit of the Turkish Cypriot ‘government’, but despite a promise to look at complaint, little tangible effort has been made to address concerns.

A few rules and regulations are in existence – including a provision for more inspections – but at present quarry contractors ‘have a blank cheque to do what they want’, environmentalists say.

Last week a senior European official was quoted by Turkish Cypriot press as describing the destruction as a catastrophe. “Had this happened in an EU country, there would have been severe penalties,” the unnamed official said.

The European Parliament has been kept informed on the situation in the Pentadaktylos Mountains by local MEPs, including Eleni Theoharous, who has previously described the quarrying as a ‘crime’.

Metin Ulug, chairman of the ‘Quarries Union’ claimed in a recent interview that number of quarries had shot up, despite no new permits being granted.

Residents in nearby towns and villages have also complained that their concerns are routinely ignored by authorities, adding that pollution and early morning explosions are making life increasingly difficult.

“The threat from quarrying for Pentadaktylos falls under this global framework of humanity’s demand for building material,” says Maria Hadjimichael, a postdoctoral researcher in Environmental Politics at the University of Cyprus.

“Thus we need to of course demand its protection but at the same time we need to tackle the issues underlying its destruction. And we should not be forgetting that at the same time in the southern part of the island, there are discussions taking place for additional licences of more quarries in Akamas and particularly in close proximity to the gorges of Androlykou,” she said.

Last year daily Kibris reported that Kyrenia would ‘soon be visible from Nicosia’ if urgent measures were not taken to stem quarrying. The paper reported that mountains and foothills were ‘literally disappearing’ and it was impossible to rehabilitate them.

“These practices make it even more important that a strong federal government is in place when a solution of the Cyprus Problem is agreed upon, and that the EU acquis communautaire is immediately imposed on the whole island, otherwise environmental destruction will continue without anyone being able to do anything about it. We urge for common sense to prevail and for the destruction of Pentadaktylos to stop immediately,” Xanthou added.

Separately, environmentalists in the north are also alarmed at proposed plan for a mountain tunnel linking Nicosia and Kyrenia.

“Geological studies for the tunnel project are well underway, the survey has been completed and we are onto the feasibility study,” Hasan Nihat Erduran, an official at the Turkish Cypriot ‘Highways Department’ told the media recently.

“This is a prestigious project funded by Turkey. Our figures show the existing road is unsafe and inadequate,” Erduran added.

The tunnel will be 5 kilometres in length according to Erduran.





