The future of Akrotiri’s vital salt lake over the next 25 years was the focus of a recent workshop planning on protecting it and the peninsula as a whole, the British Bases said on Monday.

The Akrotiri salt lake, home to rare plants and essential wildlife habitats, faces increasing threats from urbanisation, land-use changes and climate change.

The event at the Akrotiri Environmental Education Centre gathered experts from the Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs), local authorities, NGOs, community members and academics to develop plans to strengthen the resilience of one of Cyprus’ most important wetland ecosystems.

The workshop is part of a three-year initiative launched in 2024 in collaboration with the Open University of Cyprus and the University of Kent’s Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, funded by the UK Government’s Darwin Plus grant scheme.

Senior conservation and projects officer Margarita Stavrinide of the SBA administration said the project’s goals were “to help restore degraded habitats, enhance endangered plant populations, and manage human access to this fragile ecosystem.”

She highlighted the crucial collaboration between the SBAs, Cyprus and UK partners to ensure long-term conservation success.

“We’re developing small ponds in the eucalyptus forest, collecting seeds from endangered plants for ex-situ conservation, and installing access controls in the Salt Lake area. We also engage local stakeholders to develop sustainability scenarios,” the Open University’s Dr Elli Tzirkalli said.

“By combining science, policy and public participation, the project takes an important step toward balancing ecological resilience with the needs of the local community”.