Hasikos met a delegation of residents from the Akamas peninsula to discuss the projects the government wants included in the 2015 budget.

While the minister said he was determined to go through with his Akamas plan, he might have an issue with funding.

“Our financial resources are limited but we must find a way around this. The government will make sure to come up with a plan for all communities in the area to get what they are entitled to,” Hasikos said, explaining that as many of those communities are located within the protected NATURA 2000 zone, any project must be carefully planned.

“These communities are entitled to government support since they are located in an area where development cannot proceed like other areas in the country,” the minister said.

The landowners of Akamas have been pushing for what they call ‘mild development’ in the region.

Landowners and local residents have long argued that it is unfair not to allow them to develop what has become prime real estate, while conservationists counter that Akamas is one of the last truly beautiful nature spots in the government-controlled areas which is already under threat by the gradual encroachment of development with the tolerance of the authorities.

NATURA 2000 is an EU-wide network of nature protection areas established under the 1992 Habitats Directive.

An Akamas masterplan has been in the works since 1989 because landowners cannot agree with the government on the specifics. While the original masterplan forbids any kind of development within the zone, the landowners asked to be allowed some exceptions.

Source: Cyprus Mail