Press release from the Cyprus Environmental Movement – PKK
Renewable energy sources and photovoltaic parks are necessary for the green transition of the country, but the continuous creation of photovoltaic parks such as the one planned for the Lythrodonda, Katalionda, Mathiati area, are clearly destructive for the area of their installation and for the country . The uncontrolled installation of RES units either in agricultural or forest areas and despite the opposition of the local community, which will be the first to experience the negative results, finds the Cyprus Environmental Movement diametrically opposed.
Creating sources of cleaner and cheaper energy is something we applaud because climate change and the desertification of our country is already here and action needs to be taken. But there are some conditions. The damage caused by the creation of a park should not be greater than the expected benefit. It is not possible to destroy trees or use arable land to install a photovoltaic park. There are many barren lands for this type of facility.
The information about the cutting of 1400 trees in a wooded area adjacent to the network area
Natura2000, between the Lythrodontas, Kataliondas and Mathiatis communities are very worrying and the fact is unacceptable. Much more so since most of the land is the property of the state and the recommendations of the Audit Service have not been followed either. In addition to the destruction of pine trees, the effects will also be negative for the fauna of the area, which consists of more than 50 species.
Once again, business profit cannot be placed above the common good that is intertwined with the protection of the environment and in this case the forest. Whoever is the entrepreneur behind this project, the state has an obligation to enforce order by applying Cypriot and European legislation. Any private individual who wants to create a photovoltaic park can buy land in barren areas, which should be determined through spatial planning, which should also be done quickly.
The Cyprus Environmental Movement considers it a very serious mistake creation of the park despite the objections of the local community and environmental organizations, the effects of the creation of which we will all pay immediately and much more later and which, in combination with other similar parks planned in the area, will have cumulative effects on the microclimate of the area, flora, fauna and the wider environment.
