Akamas beach party threat to turtles

[memory man]

Environmental department inspectors were on scene at an Akamas beach on Tuesday to investigate how the Paphos district office had granted permission to an individual to host a private party without liaising with the relevant state departments to ensure the protection of turtles.

The party, organised by a guest at the Anassa hotel in Latchi, Polis Chrysochous, is scheduled to take place on Thursday for 150 people, the hotel’s general manager Sebastian Wurst told the Cyprus Mail.

Organising an event at a beach, particularly at a Natura protected area requires the input of the fisheries and environmental departments before a permit by the district office is granted.

This is to ensure turtles, which nest across the beach are unharmed.

According to Agriculture Minister Nicos Kouyialis, neither of the two departments were informed but were now looking into the matter.

“We had to send letters to receive any information. The Paphos district officer has provided it but I believe the fisheries department and environmental departments should have been informed first.”

Asked whether the developments would mean a halt to the event set to take place on Thursday, Kouyialis said environmental department officials were on scene to investigate.

Neo Chorio community leader Andreas Christodoulou, who was involved in the process due to his jurisdiction, said the permit was granted for €500.

“Do you know how much money this party will bring to our country? The way some people are behaving is deterring people from investing in our economy.”

He was referring to concerns from environmentalists that this would put turtles, now in hatching period, at risk.

“There’s not a single nest there,” Christodoulou said.

A video shared on Facebook shows turtles heading to the sea while excavators are heard in the background.

“This is a Russian person that’s going to spend a lot of money to have an event in our country. Why do we want to deter him? Humans and turtles can co-exist.”

“The hotel is just removing the umbrellas they have for the guests and they’ll have their party.”

Anassa’s general manager told the Cyprus Mail the hotel had a permit for sunbeds but as this was a large event, it required a permit which the guest had received.

“Apart from the permits we also care for the turtles. The nests are marked and the contractors are aware of it, I went there myself to check,” Wurst said.

The Paphos district officer was not immediately available for comment.

http://cyprus-mail.com/2017/09/05/akama ... s-turtles/

[Dominic]

How close is this to the beaches where the turtle nests were destroyed?

[cyprusmax47]

How close is this to the beaches where the turtle nests were destroyed?

From the beach of the Anassa Hotel which is West of Latchi to the beach where the turtle nests were destroyed, East of Limni, is a distance of ca 9 km as the crow flies.....

Max

[Dominic]

Ta

[memory man]

[Uncle D]

Please don't tar them all with the same brush, its not all Russians, just the wealthy ones. In fact not just Russians, wealthy people the world over do as they please.

[memory man]

Akamas turtle hazard party halted (Update 2)

READ MORE

[Dominic]

Please don't tar them all with the same brush, its not all Russians, just the wealthy ones. In fact not just Russians, wealthy people the world over do as they please.

I have moved the offending comment to the pit, in case anybody is wondering who Uncle D was talking to.

If anybody wants to say anything blatantly racist about any other nationality, then they need to do so on another forum. They also need to remember John 8:7 - let him who is without sin cast the first stone.

[cyprusmax47]

Comment moved to The Pit

What is wrong with the "mini zoo" you call it at Sea Caves area (nothing to do with the Sea Caves)?

About Russian people: I was a bit concerned in the 90th when the first Russians arrived at Limassol when I lived then in Neo Chorio. But they stayed there and I never met any of them. In the meantime they moved also towards Paphos district and I was meeting quite a lot of Russians here, where they built houses etc. I must say that nearly all of them were very friendly, well educated people, with a lot of common knowledge and specially open to green ideas and the environment. (unlike many other Nationalities who came to Cyprus for the same reason) The only one I can remember who was not nice was the one with the Tala Tower, (but there is always one isn't it )

Max

[Lofos-5]

[...] the one with the Tala Tower

We can see down to the thing from our house - I don't particularly dislike it but my wife hates it. I cannot believe that that tower is still there - there was quite some uproar about it approx. 2(?) years ago but yet it is still there! Wonder how the owner gets away with it all?

A.

[memory man]

Beach party permit was withdrawn over bulldozer’s presence, interior ministry says

The permit granted for a private party at the beach by Anassa hotel was recalled due to the bulldozer at the scene, the interior ministry said on Wednesday, responding after the controversy that emerged over the protection of turtles at the Natura area in Akamas.

READ MORE

[cyprusmax47]

I remember times in the 90th when I lived in Neo Chorio and had my Fish Lunch sometimes in Nestoras's place in Latchi (now Porto Latchi) and tiny turtles were walking under the tables which were placed right on the beach. This was something normal then and nobody gave big attention to it....

Max

[memory man]

Pop stars Bieber, Aguilera to perform at Anassa wedding (Update 2)



Photograph posted by Conservationist group Terra Cypria showing preparation works at Anassa hotel underway for Thursday's wedding


The controversial wedding party set to take place on the beach at the Anassa hotel will go ahead on Thursday with high profile celebrities Christina Aguilera and Justin Bieber booked to perform.

The permit for the beach part of the three-day event was supposedly revoked by the agriculture minister on Tuesday after photographs were posted online which showed a bulldozer on the sand clearing and digging to prepare for the party, with turtles in the foreground.

The beach in Akamas is in a Natura2000 protected area. The turtles and their breeding grounds are also protected.

READ MORE

[Dominic]

I do wish they would make their mind up!

[memory man]

Bieber, Aguilera to perform at Anassa bash, but not on the beach (Update 3)

UPDATE 3.

READ MORE

[memory man]

I do wish they would make their mind up!

They did, Oh no they didn't, yes they did

[Dominic]

Oh is it going to be a panto? My Widow Twankey is quite formidable.

[Dominic]

I was unaware you were privy to his diary.

I once went to a posh bash in Dubai that had some celebs in attendance. There was Shane "Two Plates" Richie, and one of the leads from Game of Thrones, to name but two. It was kind of funny watching them hover around not really knowing what to do with themselves.

Incidently, Old Two Plates was so called because he went up to the buffet with two plates. I don't think anybody outside of my immediate family would refer to him as Shane Two Plates Richie though. It just never caught on. But I was there, and he did take two plates to the buffet.

[cyprusmax47]

I still wonder how many turtles were laying their eggs under the sunbeds of the Anassa Beach .....

https://www.google.com/maps/@35.043453, ... 840!8i2160

Max

[PaphosAL]

Just a thought, but if the Anassa Hotel was built illegally, without planning permission, in a Cyprus Conservation Area (specifically, the Akamas National Park), then how come it has not been demolished by now?

On the contrary, Bing Maps shows yet more beach front developments to the west of and next door to the Anassa, including another hotel (the Aphrodite Beach Hotel) along with dozens of detached villas with swimming pools on three complexes!!!

So ALL of that 1500m long stretch of beach favoured by turtles for nesting is now at risk from human invasion... This crazy situation wouldn't be allowed at Lara Bay, would it? What is so special about the Neo Chorio municipal authority that allows them to flagrantly breach central government planning and conservation Laws in this area?

As regards photos being digitally faked, as claimed. Yes, we all know that the turtle hatchlings emerge at night, for their desperate scuttle down the beach and into the sea, minimizing the odds on them getting grabbed by predators.

Who knows what their reactions are in broad daylight, when they sense the seismic vibrations of a bloody great big JCB bulldozer illegally working the beach a few metres away? RUN FOR YOUR LIFE, NOW!!!

Cheers- AL