Cyprus casino project criticised by activists
A conservationist group condemned the approval of a casino resort in Zakaki and questioned its environmental impact assessments.
Cyprus.- A casino resort in Cyprus has raised the anger of conservationist group BirdLife Cyprus, which has questioned the authorities for going ahead with the development. According to the environmentalists, the government authorised the project “without proper environmental impact assessments” and didn’t take into account the protected areas and species.
“The Akrotiri Peninsula is a unique wetland and is home to many wonderful birds, plants and habitats protected under national and European laws,” BirdLife said in a statement. “While media coverage has very much focused on the economic and job creation benefits of this touristic development, very little has been said about the environmental impacts of this huge project on the peninsula and its wildlife. These have, sadly, been brushed away, in the name of profit.”
The group explained that the project, that will have its foundation stone next Friday (despite the environmental impact assessment not being completed), is located right by an Important Bird Area (IBA) in the Akrotiri Salt Lake. “A project of this size will lead to the loss of valuable habitat not only for the Red-footed Falcon but for also many other species, such as the Eleonora’s Falcon, with possibly irreversible consequences,” they said.
“Shockingly, the consultants that undertook the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study on behalf of the casino development company are ignoring and denying the presence of the two falcon species in the area,” BirdLife added. “Even worse, their study concludes that ‘there would be no adverse impact, that the self-contained resort would be built within an urban zoning area and that the part in dispute did not have protected wildlife’.”
