The sand is gone and rocks have emerged on Fig Tree Bay, one of the most popular beaches on the island as thousands of local and foreign visitors gear up to head to Famagusta district for their summer holidays.
Erosion and the shifting of the sand is a human-caused problem, Chairwoman of environmental research NGO ‘Akti’ Xenia Loizidou told philenews, who attributes the issue to the intervention by Paralimni Municipality to the northeastern part of the beach where a 30-metre long line of rocks has been placed.
Loizidou argued that it is necessary to conduct a hydrodynamic study to determine how the ecosystem is currently functioning and use it to find alternatives based on the correct hydrodynamic model and to take appropriate measures to restore environmental damage.
The practice commonly followed in previous years was to bring down bulldozers on the beaches in addition to a pipeline to extract sand from the sea, in order to modify the beach. Sand would be transferred from the bottom of the sea to the Protaras shores arbitrarily and without any previous studies by experts.
Bathers who visit the beach for swimming as well as local residents have reportedly voiced their dissatisfaction and concerns on the beach’s image and anticipate the appropriate measures from the competent authorities.
