The Friends of Akamas have raised fresh concerns over the ongoing revision and redesign of forest road projects inside the Akamas National Forest Park, warning that interventions are pushing the area “from bad to worse”.
In a statement, the group said two forest road networks located within the Natura 2000 protected zones and the national forest park are being subjected to continuous, environmentally damaging works, compounded by what it describes as fragmented and ineffective attempts at “revision” and “restoration”.
According to the organisation, these repeated interventions fail to address the real conservation needs of the park and instead raise legitimate questions about ulterior motives.
Northern forest road: Loutra–Fontana Amorosa
The Friends of Akamas point out that, under the Ecological Assessment Report and the opinion issued within the Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment for the Sustainable Development Plan of Akamas, this road should already have been closed to private vehicles, including quad bikes.
Although an ecological assessment has already been approved for limited, preliminary surface-levelling works at just three locations, the Forestry Department has now submitted a new application seeking further “improvement” of the road.
The group says the latest information report raises serious concerns about the true purpose of this additional intervention. They argue it amounts to an unnecessary and potentially deliberate upgrade that facilitates continued access by private vehicles in areas where, according to ecological assessments, such access should be prohibited.
Western road network: Aspros Potamos–Lara–Toxeftra
In the western network, the Friends of Akamas say the revision and redesign process has once again failed to start from the correct premise.
They argue that the priority should be the clear restriction of private vehicle access to the edges of the park, alongside meaningful provisions for the safe and healthy movement of pedestrians and cyclists.
“How can an area be described as a national park,” the group asks, “when absolute priority is given to visitors’ private vehicles, while walkers and cyclists are sidelined and, in practice, excluded?”
Park rangers without vision, roles without mandate
The organisation also criticises the Forestry Department’s decision to prioritise the recruitment of park rangers, describing it as a desperate attempt to present progress while the fundamental elements of effective park management remain absent.
According to the statement, the positions have been advertised without clear or substantive qualification requirements.
“How is it possible,” the group asks, “for a park ranger, who represents the park and Cyprus to international visitors, not to possess specialised and clearly defined qualifications?”
At the same time, the Friends of Akamas say the responsibilities and mandate of the recently appointed head of the Akamas Office remain unclear.
A vision abandoned, a struggle that continues
Even in these basic steps, the group argues, the limited importance attached by the Forestry Department to the project is evident. They say Akamas is still being wrongly treated as a “forest park” rather than a national park meeting international standards, which was the original vision.
That vision, they conclude, marked the beginning of a 40-year struggle to protect Akamas, a struggle which, they stress, is far from over.