Cypriot Young Greens cleaning up Cyprus' beaches

The Young Cyprus Greens (ΝΕ.ΟΙ.) have once again participated with great success in the Mediterranean beach cleaning campaign with the slogan 'Seas and Coasts free and clean'. The cleaning took place in Larnaca, Ayia Napa, Limassol and the Lara area.

The public was enthusiastic to respond to all efforts, especially in the last cleanup along the Lara beach. The volume of rubbish collected by the participants in the cleanup events organized by the Young Cyprus Greens was massive: including broken bottles, cigarette ends, used condoms. In the case of the Lara beach they also found bulky pieces of tar, tyres, ropes and decomposed animal corpses.

The Ecological Movement of Cyprus, the Volunteer Emergency Department (for underwater cleaning), the Municipality of Larnaca, the Famagusta District Commission of the Ecologists-Environmentalists Movement and the Wildlife Protection Association also participated in the cleanup events.

The cleanup effort ended by cleaning the north coast of Lara. By the end of the treatment, the participants – who exceeded sixty - had the opportunity to witness the birth of about thirty Loggerhead turtles (Caretta Caretta). Mr. Andreas Dimitropoulos and Mrs. Myroula Chatzichristoforou informed the participants about the breeding and nesting process of turtles, and about the turtle species encountered in Cyprus.

The illegal premises which appear to be continuing to sprout like mushrooms in the so-called protected area of Akamas, was of particular interest. The state does not seem to be exercising any control in this region, and the work of people who have dedicated their lives to what is perhaps the most successful program in the Mediterranean to protect turtles is now endangered by the arbitrary application of the law. The Young Cyprus Greens invites the relevant institutions to act and react to the irregularities and to protect the people who are struggling to protect the area on a daily basis.

Through the cleanups, the Greens had the opportunity to deliver messages for tourism, culture and our environment: Young people demand 'Seas and Coasts free and clean'.