Groups help mass clean-up at ‘protected’ Ayluga Lake
A WETLAND haunt for one in three of the TRNC’s avian visitors, despoiled by rubbish dumping despite being protected under Europe’s Natura 2000 conservation scheme, was the site of a mass clean-up.
The litter-pick at the Ayluga Lake, near Gazimağusa, was undertaken jointly last Thursday by Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU), Gazimağusa District Office, Gazimağusa Municipality and Gazimağusa Women’s Centre (Makamer), whose representatives were joined by students of the town’s Namık Kemal High School.
Organisers said the campaign was in preparation for creating an Ayluga Nature Life Park to protect and promote the site and enable people to use it for leisure activities.
Cyprus Today highlighted the state of Ayluga in January, when birding guide Robin Snape called for an immediate end to vehicle access to prevent lorries tipping and quad bike use around the lake, blighted by dumped debris including used condoms and discarded underwear.
Gazimağusa District Officer Kemal Serpal, describing the “environmental problem” as one of the leading issues affecting the country, said: “Efforts [so far] are proving insufficient. The environment is littered by adults.”
He called for a continuation of such joint cleanups, as well as a campaign to create public awareness about the need to keep their surroundings clean.
Gazimağusa Mayor İsmail Arter, thanking those who took part, expressed sadness that the site “appears to be sinking in rubbish” despite previous clean-up efforts. “We clean, but as elsewhere in Gazimağusa, people dump their rubbish,” he said. Çağan Coşkuner, of the Environmental Protection Department, said they hoped that by lending support to civil society efforts, they could boost awareness and teach people not to litter.
Makamer’s Sıdıka Özdoğan called on the state to enshrine preservation of the ecological balance in all laws and regulations.