Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
applications for new construction in the Kyrenia
region (the north's main tourist resort) in the
first year exceeded the number of total applica-
tions made in the previous 30 years for the entire
north of Cyprus. Again, political calculations,
and the prospective future implementation of
the Annan Plan, or something like it, play their
part in shaping development. It is interesting to
observe, for example, that the total number of
applications for building permission is very low
in the Güzelyurt area, which is subject to territo-
rial readjustment under the terms of the Annan
Plan. Turkish Cypriots living here are prepared
to move to other places, despite having been
refugees both in 1963 and 1974, and do not
invest in the Güzelyurt area, nor even bury their
dead there, preferring to invest instead in Nicosia,
Kyrenia or elsewhere, which would remain under
Turkish Cypriot control under a future settlement.
The current intense building activity in
Northern Cyprus has stimulated ribbon devel-
opment at the edge of the cities and along high-
ways, and the spread of scattered development.
Tourism and second home developments are
the major construction activities placing pres-
sure on the coastline and other environmentally
sensitive or fragile areas, including forestry areas,
agricultural lands, aquifers, riverbeds, mountain
ranges and dune systems. Numerous natural
resources and sensitive sites are already being
exploited, polluted or destroyed by rapid deve-
lopment and sprawl, and many other areas are
in danger of being taken into tourism use without
proper planning or impact analysis. The regions
between Lapitos/Karavas-Kyrenia, the northern
coastal line between Kyrenia and Karpasia, and
the eastern coastal line between Famagusta and
Karpasia, have all undergone particularly rapid
development, with buyers or sellers in some
places clearing acres of citrus, olive and carob
groves to open up land for construction.
The construction free-for-all is exacerbated
by the lack of a comprehensive spatial develop-
ment plan for the entire territory of the northern
part of the island covering spatial development
strategies and delineating and designating areas
for various types of economic sectors such as
tourism, industrial transportation, waste man-
agement, and protected areas. Planning legisla-
tion is in force in an
ad hoc
way, in areas where
a development plan exists, or where a develop-
ment ordinance has been prepared under the
planning law. There is no overall development
policy grounded on sustainable development.
Current levels of construction are placing
an immense strain on certain areas, such as the
popular tourist resort of Kyrenia, in terms of the
carrying capacity of natural resources and pre-
sent public service infrastructure, and severely
compromising the sustainable future of the island
for coming generations. The expansion of stone
quarries is a case in point, with the use of dyna-
mite in the excavation process severely compro-
mising water resources and irrevocably changing
the topography of a region which enjoys natural
heritage status under the constitution. Besides the
capacity increase in stone quarries, the general
import of iron, cement and similar materials had
increased by well over 200% in just 1 year.
Planning authorities and local municipali-
ties in the north are unable to keep pace with
the scale of illegal construction and lack of com-
pliance with the environmental, planning and
building legislation. The Union of Chambers of
Cyprus Turkish Engineers and Architects, envi-
ronmental groups and NGOs criticize the speed
and poor quality of construction, as well as the
failure to enforce the existing legislation. The
municipalities, who are responsible for the inspec-
tion of construction sites within their territories,
face the dilemma of trying to achieve a trade-off
between their need for the cash generated by
the building activity, and the environmental
damage it causes. In general, tourism and the
construction sector are considered the driving
sectors for boosting the economy, and the main
source for local budget revenues to enable
Northern Cyprus to become less dependent on
Turkey. Whilst Turkish Cypriots complain about
the effects of construction on the environment,
they also argue that, as long as they are under
embargo and cannot export goods, they do not
have many choices. The dominance of these
perceptions and arguments in the public arena
acts as a disincentive for the government to
create alternative development policies.
Planning and Interim Measures for
the Protection of the Environment
Although the government regards the construc-
tion boom as an opportunity for increasing local
