Demonstrators in Ayios Georgios, Peyia on Saturday morning protested ongoing violations of protected areas in Peyia and the Akamas region.

Protesters carried placards with messages such as ‘Save Akamas’, ‘After the sea caves, Akamas is next’, ‘Concrete is not development’, and ‘Protect our natural monuments’. They called for stronger environmental protection and warned that they would not tolerate violations.

The demonstration was intended to inform the public that “something is not right regarding the protection of Akamas,” coordinator for the Green Party in Limassol and Paphos Andreas Evlavis said.

He called for decisive measures to safeguard the environment, also mentioning concerns about landfills in the sea caves area, suggesting that some actions were being justified after the fact.

Evlavis added that the environment department, Akamas municipality, and other authorities provided conflicting information.

He urged them to decide “whether they want to protect the sea caves and Akamas.”

The protest came after Greens on Thursday accused developers of acting with “incredible audacity,” dumping soil and rubble at the sea caves site.

Evlavis said authorities had failed to enforce environmental restrictions and warned that the sea caves had “lost their character.”

He highlighted the importance of the site as a seal habitat and called for urgent intervention to protect Natura 2000 zones.

But Akamas mayor Marinos Lambrou said four months ago the municipality had ordered the developer to halt earthworks on the same agricultural plot.

Secretary of the Youth Cyprus Greens Stamatis Papavasiliou on Saturday said the situation in Akamas “has gone beyond all limits” and that “impunity has become the norm.” He called for accountability and an end to what he described as unchecked behaviour.

The police were present throughout the demonstration. Following the protest, environmental groups carried out a cleaning campaign on Lara beach.

In a related development, the 13th Carob Festival in Akamas drew thousands of visitors on Friday. President of the Paphos Carob Authority Charalambos Pittokopitis said the festival’s attendance was “a response to those who tried to cancel the event in recent days.”

The festival was relocated following criticism over its initial placement in a protected area, after reports emerged of an unauthorised private party held at the same spot last weekend.

“We moved the location around 70 to 100 metres away from the sea,” Lambrou said, adding that the new spot was more suitable for the 2,000-3,000 expected visitors.

He also stressed that the festival had taken place in the area for 13 years “without issue.”

Pittokopitis said that humans, nature, seals, and turtles must coexist.

He described cultural events like the festival as connecting the past with the present and future. He said communities that ignore their cultural roots risk losing their future.

The festival offered traditional carob-based dishes, local Cypriot flavours, and a cultural programme, according to a statement from the Akamas municipality.

Saturday’s demonstration was organised by a group of environmental and political organisations and was attended by representatives from the Green Party and Youth Cyprus Greens, the Cyprus Ecological Movement, Friends of the Earth, the Centre for Social Innovation, and Reset Research and Education in Social Empowerment and Transformation.