NGO helps clean up Lady’s Mile, Akrotiri salt lake (video)

Conservation group Terra Cypria has recently completed extensive restoration work at Lady’s Mile and Akrotiri salt lake, two locations considered vital parts of the wider wetlands system.

The work started in July and included the removal of some 400 cubic metres of rubbish and destruction of motocross circuits and illegal lanes.

Terra Cypria also blocked access to the more sensitive areas of the salt lake using large boulders, “to achieve restoration of the wetland, especially the locations damaged the most.”

Lady’s Mile is an area highly affected by human activities, like uncontrolled driving and waste dumping.

The move aims at making people use the main road to access the beach.

The work was part of the MedlsWet programme that is cofounded by the Swiss MAVA foundation for nature.

The programme was launched in October last year and will be completed in Autumn 2022. Its main objective is to restore Mediterranean wetlands necessary for biodiversity.

The Akrotiri Peninsula is the most important system of wetlands in Cyprus.

Akrotiri and Larnaca salt lakes are the only two regions of Cyprus that have been included in the Ramsar Convention List of Wetlands of International Importance from 160 different States.

The Area has also been designated by BirdLife Cyprus as an Important Bird Area. Administratively, the wetland system of Akrotiri falls within the boundaries of the British Bases and is declared a protected area, corresponding to the European Natura 2000 Network, for its importance for birds and other species and habitats.