As final decisions are made on Akamas, no one is happy

[Paphos Life]

The government's proposed Akamas national forest park (NFP) sustainable development plan may have got the green light from the environment department, but the Green Party, local communities and environmental NGOs still find it unsatisfactory....

Read the article and chat about it below...

[Kili01]

Well, the new Akamas Park seems set to change everything we loved about the Akamas, quiet (except on hunting days,) relatively unspoiled once one had left the sprawl of Agios Georgios villas which seem to encroach into the Akamas...
So, its all change when/if its new park is complete with its gated entrances. Visitors parking in car parks and proceeding on rented buggies or bikes..? So what about Cypriots and others who want to use their cars and 4x4's? What about the hunters?
Can't imagine the awful changes that will come when the park is full of tarmaced roads, refreshment stops, toilet blocks and heaven knows what else!
Is it saving or destroying the last untouched beautiful, wild area left in the Republic?
Time will tell.
Dee

[Dominic]

Oh there are lots of other untouched, beautiful and wild areas. We drive through them all the time.

But I can see no logic to the proposed changes. Allowing only buggies is just madness.

[Kili01]

Yes, I know that there are still some lovely, wild and scenic places in Cyprus and long may they last! But I was meaning areas near or on the coast. So much of the coastal area is now covered in concrete from Paphos to Coral Bay and onwards to Agios Georgios. I have been visiting and then living here since 1968... So have seen so many changes. Some for the better for sure, but many for the worse.
Dee

[Dominic]

The whole world has changed since 1968. The human population has more than doubled, for a start.

[Kili01]

True.

[Dominic]

Scary when you think about it.

[wantoosoon]

People seem to have very poor reading comprehension skills. I don't know how you get from this:

Visitors to the park will need to pay an entrance fee and will not be able to use their private cars to enter. Instead, bicycle rental stations and a park shuttle service have been proposed, and the environment department’s notes called for designated routes for buggies and motorbikes that will limit traffic and accidents.

Two buggy accidents were reported in Akamas in August, one fatal, prompting strong reactions from environmentalists and locals. The latest announcement specified that the road from the Baths of Aphodite to Fontana Amorosa will be closed to vehicles of this type. Only park shuttles, government officials, and private landowners with special permission will be able to access this road.

To:

"only buggies will be able to access the national park"

[wantoosoon]

Well, the new Akamas Park seems set to change everything we loved about the Akamas, quiet (except on hunting days,) relatively unspoiled once one had left the sprawl of Agios Georgios villas which seem to encroach into the Akamas...
So, its all change when/if its new park is complete with its gated entrances. Visitors parking in car parks and proceeding on rented buggies or bikes..? So what about Cypriots and others who want to use their cars and 4x4's? What about the hunters?
Can't imagine the awful changes that will come when the park is full of tarmaced roads, refreshment stops, toilet blocks and heaven knows what else!
Is it saving or destroying the last untouched beautiful, wild area left in the Republic?
Time will tell.
Dee

Honestly, does anyone really care what the hunters want? Is that a priority in a national park? I truly despair...

[Dominic]

People seem to have very poor reading comprehension skills. I don't know how you get from this:

Visitors to the park will need to pay an entrance fee and will not be able to use their private cars to enter. Instead, bicycle rental stations and a park shuttle service have been proposed, and the environment department’s notes called for designated routes for buggies and motorbikes that will limit traffic and accidents.

Two buggy accidents were reported in Akamas in August, one fatal, prompting strong reactions from environmentalists and locals. The latest announcement specified that the road from the Baths of Aphodite to Fontana Amorosa will be closed to vehicles of this type. Only park shuttles, government officials, and private landowners with special permission will be able to access this road.

To:

"only buggies will be able to access the national park"

Simply because not many people will bother to use the cycles, and the shuttle service will completely miss the point of the Akamas, which is the ability to explore an untamed wilderness. You cannot do that on a shuttle service.

[Dominic]

Well, the new Akamas Park seems set to change everything we loved about the Akamas, quiet (except on hunting days,) relatively unspoiled once one had left the sprawl of Agios Georgios villas which seem to encroach into the Akamas...
So, its all change when/if its new park is complete with its gated entrances. Visitors parking in car parks and proceeding on rented buggies or bikes..? So what about Cypriots and others who want to use their cars and 4x4's? What about the hunters?
Can't imagine the awful changes that will come when the park is full of tarmaced roads, refreshment stops, toilet blocks and heaven knows what else!
Is it saving or destroying the last untouched beautiful, wild area left in the Republic?
Time will tell.
Dee

Honestly, does anyone really care what the hunters want? Is that a priority in a national park? I truly despair...

The hunters have a very powerful political lobby. I don't think you will find anybody on this site who is pro hunting in its current form, especially when you consider the mess they make, but you cannot assume that their voice won't be heard. It will be. Very clearly.

[Devil]

All I know about the proposals is that if I were a rabbit, I would not be a happy bunny!