Former environment commissioner Antonia Theodosiou has described her departure from the post as “sudden”, while criticising delays in environmental policy and the handling of the Akamas.

In an interview with news outlet StockWatch published on Saturday, Theodosiou said she had no indication that she would be replaced in the recent government reshuffle.

“I had no suspicion, my departure was sudden, as was my appointment,” she said, whilst acknowledging that she was grateful President Nikos Christodoulides for having selected her as a scientist rather than as a representative of a political party.

Theodosiou said her office received almost 10 complaints a day during her two and a half years as commissioner.

The complaints covered issues including tree cutting, uncontrolled rubbish dumping, interventions in forests and nature, and irregularities involving beaches.

She said around 90 per cent of the complaints were justified but argued that the commissioner’s advisory role limited the office’s ability to secure action on matters requiring political decisions.

“I had no intervention from the government in the issues I was promoting,” she said.

“However, when it comes to issues that require political decisions, they are all at an early stage or have not even started yet.”

Theodosiou identified the protection and management of Akamas as one of the main areas where she believed progress had been inadequate.

She argued that Akamas should be treated as a wider natural, cultural and social area, including surrounding communities, rather than solely as a protected landscape.

“Today we are faced with an open construction site,” she said, describing the management and protection of areas requiring protection as being in a “disastrous state of limbo”.

She also criticised the continued reliance on studies and consultations, saying the issue required comprehensive action combining environmental protection with sustainable development.

Theodosiou was appointed by Christodoulides in January 2024 after working on the sustainable development plan for Akamas.

Environmental organisations expressed “strong disappointment and concern” over her removal earlier this month, describing her departure as a loss of environmental expertise.

The government has since replaced her with former Edek MP Elias Myrianthous.

Theodosiou said one of her main proposals was the creation of a deputy ministry for climate change and sustainable development, arguing that existing environmental structures did not provide sufficient capacity to plan and implement policy.