Τεύχος 2, Ιούλιος 2007

Hot Greenhouse Summer Launched

This past month has been particularly eventful and intense for Terra Cypria as well as for Cypriot environmental affairs in general. With Akamas on fire (we will be dedicating our next issue to this "hot" subject), followed by the unprecedented forest fire destruction more recently, the discourse on the direction of development in Cyprus is at centre stage. Meanwhile, a civil society in its infancy is asked to deal with burning issues such as environmental justice, renewable energy, sustainable development and protecting biodiversity at a time when the acquisition of wealth at any cost is gaining the status of national obsession.

Nevertheless, before we start pointing fingers on account of our lack of environmental awareness and our immature obsession with wealth, we should consider a golden rule of democratic theory: freedom of information is necessary to make responsible decisions and informed choices. The transparency of the political process is also a basic requirement of democracy. When these vital ingredients are missing, how then are people expected to make responsible decisions? These democratic values are relevant to Cypriot environmental policy. Three years after the passing of the Law on Freedom of Access to Environmental Information N. 119(I)/2004,the law is yet to be properly applied!

The issue of whether there was sufficient public consultation in drafting Cyprus' renewable energy strategy is also a "hot" one. This issue features an interview with Mr. Christos Farconides, former Renewable Energy Officer at the Cyprus Institute of Energy. The interview reveals a great deal on how the policy was drafted and what is the current status of implementation. Terra Cypria's Deputy Director Costas Orountiotis has been researching renewable sources of energy in Cyprus and has produced a report weighing our options. This issue features the Executive Summary of this report; the full report can be obtained by contacting Terra Cypria.

Leni Photi keeps us posted with happenings at the ESC at Kritou Terra, with her spirited account of bi-communal summer camp activities around the themes of nature and the environment.This newsletter also features stories on two important events, the Civil Society Fair, organized by UNDP-ACT between 3-5 May in Nicosia and the   bi-communal two-day Seminar organized by Terra Cypria at the Cyprus Environmental Studies Centre (ESC) at Kritou Terra on June 23-24. Both events (on different scales of course) were opportunities for civil society representatives from both communities to meet, exchange views and ideas, as well as explore the possibilities of cooperation.

It is only with open dialogue and communication that the burning issues facing Cypriot civil society can be addressed.

Anna Hassapi

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