The president of the Cyprus Foundation for Afforestation, Combating Soil Erosion and the Protection of Natural Habitats (KEMA) has accused the government of indifference and neglecting its duty in relation to the Turkish water project, ‘Yeni Duzen’ reports.
The foundation’s president, Orhan Aydeniz in a written statement said “The future management and use of water, should be planned immediately.”
In his statement, which included advice on the use of water, Aydeniz suggested that instead of offering untreated water to the South, it should be bottled and offered for sale to the South.
The need for water supply to agriculture should be pre-empted by establishing markets for agricultural products. Further that agricultural areas which are suffering from drought should be identified and an assessment made to establish which areas suffer from excess soil salinity and which are the most suited to agriculture.
Aydeniz said: “The government should have completed their planning of the management of the arriving water, as well as the utilisation of the areas where water is going to be used for agriculture. The fact that the planning of how the water is to be used has not happened, shows the irresponsibility and carelessness of the government, and not only is this destroying the country’s profit but it also shows the government’s neglect of its duty and obligations. Because of this, without losing any more time, our expectations are that the management and utilisation of the arriving water should be immediately planned.”
“The government which shapes the future of water management and use of water to be used in agriculture and production planning areas, should complete its work.
Future studies are needed on the use of water”, he said adding that the government needed to tackle water management issues without delay.
