In Limassol, Natural assets have more value. For the Dasoudi, Citizen action for urban conservation.
This is part of the story of the Dasoudi (smaill woodland) and reclaiming it for Limassol and to ordinary citizens.
This was the central message of the event held at noon on saturday 28th of May in Limassol. It is intended to prevent and plans to build new two-storey building facilities and parking on the site of the most unique natural landmark in the city of limassol. A request for collaboration is facilitated by the links provided at the footer of this post.
This event gave them the hundreds of Limassol, ordinary citizens of all ages. Young and old, who sought to convert Dasoudi at a popular beach and not tsimentothei. Attending the event were MPs from all parties, as well as interest rate environment commissioner to raise their voice for a more pragmatic defense of the environment and increased participation for effective change.
Speaking to attendees, the Environment Commissioner explained the rights given by the EU citizens on environmental issues and urged them to continue this fight, stating their opposition to any projects to be planned.
The aims of the citizen movement in Limassol, an independent and spontaneous group of citizens, which requires a peaceful manner:
-The protection of green space in Dasoudi
-The assurance of public space and utilities
-The promotion and implementation of open, democratic and transparent procedures for public consultation with respect to our environmental and social rights.
We call on the tourism sector to help restore common sense in public policy making and change the natural tendency of the Cyprus Tourism authorities to systematically ignore the value of preserving our natural assets.
Read More:
Sign the petition - Join the Dasoudi Group
http://www.facebook.com/Cyprus.Nature
What do finances, natural assets and flying elephants have in common?
HOPE! The age old tradition of Anthestiria is an inherited custom of celebrating spring. It is a quite singular form of valuing the natural assets which possesses the Island of Cyprus and a unique way of exhibiting cultural heritage.
This appreciation however and much like other popular festivals are testimonial of an ever growing gap between the needs, wants and musts of a modern society that consumes culture and attracts tourism. Granted the importance of both cultural and natural assets as evidenced by tourism and travel competitiveness reports, these come with a widely known and reported evidence of a comfortable neglect.
The comfortable neglect is first evidenced by a continued tolerance by authorities of illegal practices that negatively affect the environment and a systemic failure of certain tourism authorities in meeting strategic targets established since 2003 in adequately enforcing policies in favor of a sustainable approach to tourism and developing guiding principles of how to fully exploit singularities of a destination begging for differentiation and competitiveness.
Long before the Jonathan Franzen article, emptying the skies in the New York Magazine, it was evident that a growing negative press was already established and associated with certain culinary practices and tolerance of lawlessness.
Today, not only have efforts by Birdlife association, the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) and a dedicated list of activists enabled that the practice of killing song birds for a snack reach mainstream and consolidate a permanent visibility for Cyprus through different online media outlets such as the Daily Mail, The Telegraph, The New Yorker, Huffington Post, Sunday Mirror, CBS internative network, Discovery channel among others.
Despite this media context and growing disenchantment, civil society has yet to support the total ban of a ruinous practice that reverses the negative trend established. With elections coming up and media channels awaiting, are you hopeful for a timely citizen call to action?
Photo Credit: Annual Charity event by the Bank of Cyprus for anticancer society