The distinction of SODAP beach in Paphos is welcomed by the Environment Commissioner – The “Plastic-free Beaches” badge of distinction was received by the Deputy Mayor of Paphos, Christos Makariou
The certificate of distinction of the “Plastic-free Beaches” network was officially secured on Thursday by the SODAP beach of the Municipality of Paphos, within the framework of the initiative of the project “Keep Our Sand and Sea Plastic Free, Destination Zero Plastic in Cyprus”, of the TUI Care Foundation and the Cyprus Sustainable Tourism Association (CSTI).< /p>
The badge of distinction “Plastic-free beaches” was received by the Deputy Mayor of Paphos, Christos Makariou, expressing his satisfaction and thanking everyone who contributed to the success of the project.
The initiative was welcomed by the Environment Commissioner, Antonia Theodosiou, who attended the event.
In her greeting, the Environment Commissioner stated that Paphos has taken very important steps, implementing various projects and actions that contribute to the protection of the natural environment and the promotion of its archaeological, historical and contemporary culture, and supporting environmental initiatives such as and today's. Today we are here, he said, “to be part of the solution and not the problem”.
On the “plastic-free beach” the Cyprus Sustainable Tourism Association proceeded to install a cooler for cold and free water and the Municipality of Paphos undertakes its maintenance and supply with drinking water, aiming to encourage visitors to avoid the unnecessary use of plastics, said the Mr. Theodosiou. “Guests are asked to have their own water containers, bottles, thermoses as well as reusable containers for other beverages that will be supplied by the beach businesses and for ’ this is necessary and everyone's cooperation in this project”, he noted.
“The Office of the Environment Commissioner sees this initiative as a trigger for more global sustainable management of our beaches and marine environment. Our aim is to find good practices to completely avoid the use of plastics on the beaches”, said the Commissioner, pointing out that this can only be achieved with synergies between all the stakeholders of each coastal area, such as local government bodies, restaurant owners, cafes and hotels.
The Mediterranean Sea faces, he continued, one of the highest levels of plastic pollution in the world. He further stated “that, according to 2020 data, the stock of plastic accumulating in the Mediterranean Sea is about 1.2 million tons. He also added that marine pollution is due to severe anthropogenic pressures, contributed by agriculture, coastal activities, improper and/or ineffective solid waste management, shipping and a very strong tourism industry.
Tourism is mentioned, as Mrs. Theodosiou said, as the biggest factor in worsening the volume of waste on the beaches of the Mediterranean islands. Scientists note, he said, that because of this marine litter the biodiversity of the Mediterranean is “definitely under threat”, affecting at least 134 species. On the occasion of World Turtle Day today, the Environment Commissioner also mentioned that sea turtles are an endangered species, mainly due to plastic pollution.
“Over 80% of the waste collected from the Cypriot coasts is plastic”, he stressed, underlining that it is no coincidence that up to five times more rubbish is found on tourist beaches with cigarette butts making up the majority of plastic waste (42.5 %).
The Commissioner for the Environment noted that she feels a special responsibility and dedication to the protection and sustainable development of both the city and the province, as well as all regions of Cyprus.
In his greeting, the Deputy Mayor of Paphos and re-candidate for the Deputy Mayor, Christos Makariou, said that the Local Government of the city captures the messages of the times that increasingly insist that the quality of life is closely linked to a clean and healthy environment, important element of which are the coasts and the sea. He also noted that today's ceremony is the culmination of a systematic effort by the Municipality of Paphos to offer its citizens clean beaches for a better quality of life.
In turn, the executive director of the TUI Care Foundation, Alexander Panczuk spoke about the goal of the “Keep Our Sand and Sea Plastic Free, Destination Zero Plastic in Cyprus” initiative to bring together tourists, tourism businesses and residents, to implement actions to reduce the consumption of single-use plastic in coastal areas, so that less plastic ends up in the sea, thus reducing plastic pollution.
Some of the facilities installed on the beach are the installation of water coolers that it offers free chilled and filtered water, a smoking area, information signs, as well as an artwork made of plastic waste made by students of the International School of Pafos in a clean-up campaign they had carried out a few months ago on the beach.
The initiative is supported by the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, the Municipality of Pafos, the Society for Tourism Development and Promotion of the Paphos Region, the Cyprus Association of Hoteliers, the International School of Pafos, and is carried out under the auspices of the Office of the Environment Commissioner.
