Movement to set Cyprus Tourism Organisation straight on set citizen priorities for #dasoudi in Limassol
All attempts for evasiveness by authorites have been in vain.
If the Cyprus Tourism Organization had any hope that the citizen defense of what is left of Limassol's natural reserve was to weaken in time, then from the looks of yesterday's demonstration, the strength and relentlessness of the movement has only been consolidated.
The movement has managed through its focus and relentlessness a singular feat in Cyprus, and supported by the facebook platform, S.O.S. - ΣΩΣΤΕ ΤΟ ΔΑΣΟΥΔΙ ΑΠΟ ΤΑ ΣΧΕΔΙΑ ΤΟΥ ΚΟΤ !! is currently managing support from 10,866 members. It has also managed that representatives from different stakeholders come together to defend legally the cause, the Limassol Architects Movement, Limassol Citizen Movement, Friends of Earth Cyprus, and the movement SOS – Save Dasoudi Forest.
A first demand is to clarify the
relationship between the Forestry Department and the CTO; the leasing
rights granted by the CTO to private investors; the procedure for
issuing planning permissions, and the resulting studies justifying the project - what appears as the typical 'Old boys Network' of entities behaving with a complete disregard for citizen will.
The citizens of Limassol, defending themselves from being collateral victims to lack of transparent, clear and legal development procedures, seem to finally have placed the CTO in a position that will oblige it to invert its interests in favour of the natural assets of Limassol and Cyprus.
Thanking all Cyprus Seafarers - A day to be thankful for, even from Cyprus Tourism
Ancient evidence on the coast of Cyprus, may be the earliest evidence of long-distance, open-water seafaring in the Mediterranean, long before the Greek frescoes of sailing craft in antiquity and the legendary peregrinations of Homer's Odysseus, this suggests that people in small boats from what is present-day Syria and Turkey paid seasonal visits to the island of Cyprus possibly as early as 12,000 years ago.
In modern times, in order that this link to the sea and the people living from it, may not fall from the agenda of tourism authorities such as Cyprus Tourism Organisation, we would like to echo the international call agreed to by IMO Member States, that the unique contribution made by seafarers from all over the world to international seaborne trade, the world economy and civil society as a whole, should be marked annually with a ‘Day of the Seafarer’.
The date chosen was 25 June, the day on which milestone revisions to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (the STCW Convention) and its associated Code were adopted at a Diplomatic Conference in Manila, the Philippines.
This year, the celebration will take the form of an online campaign, in which we are asking everyone to voice their support using social networks. On the Day of the Seafarer, we will ask people around the globe to say “Thank you seafarers” on Facebook, via tweets, by posting a video on YouTube, discussing on LinkedIn, or even writing an inspirational blog.
Our aim is to pay tribute to the world’s 1.5 million seafarers for the unique and all-too-often overlooked contribution to the well-being of the general public, and we would like to do it using as many social media networks as possible.
By generating interaction on the web about seafarers, we want to show respect, recognition and gratitude to seafarers everywhere. The universal outreach of social media will raise awareness of the vital role that seafarers play in the world economy and, in many respects, in sustainable development, enabling ships to carry than 90% of world trade safely, efficiently and with minimal impact on the environment.
The Day of the Seafarer is also an opportunity to educate the public about issues facing the modern-day seafarer - issues such as piracy. But, most importantly, it is the occasion for us, the world, to say “Thank you, seafarers.”
We encourage everyone to participate in this worldwide effort by celebrating and joining us on the web: so please if you want to get involved, take action and download the toolkit featured on this page.
IMO Member states: History of International Maritime Organization
Day of Seafarer: Campaign 2011 'Thank you Seafarer'
Cyprus Tourism and local government made to rethink meaning of 'Nature at your Service'
Never could it have been anticipated that this year's WED theme, 'Forests: Nature at Your Service', could have been so undermined and misinterpreted by a multiplicity of public agents linked to local tourism development.
'Forests: Nature at your service', was never meant to be understood as license for jeopardizing urban integrity without public consultation, when coming to deforestation.
During the past 2 weeks in Limassol, The Cyprus Tourism Organization, the municipality and the Forest department's neglect have achieved that citizens mobilize themselves to highlight the need for citizen participation in establishing these urban priorities. This is to highlight that the crucial role of citizen activism in establishing the social roles of Forests as well as the environmental, economic importance at a local level.
The Forest in a Green Economy report to be released in New Delhi on 5 June, in the face of continuing deforestation (currently estimated at 5.2 million hectares worldwide per year), the report outlines how increased public and private investment in forest management and forest resources can boost employment, drastically reduce deforestation and help tackle climate change.
Forests represent many things to many people including spiritual, aesthetic and cultural dimensions that are, in many ways, priceless. But they are also cornerstones of our economies, whose full economic value has all too often been invisible in national accounts of profit and loss.
On this day, let us spread the support as to the wider world of the importance of forest to our lives and livelihoods throughout the special year 2011 but also for the years to come.