Achna dam dump and poacher playground

A buzzard shot down by illegal hunters is added to the long list of violations at Achna reservoir, where one can maybe find a wildflower amid the household rubbish, animal carcasses, plastic chairs and building materials spewed across this Natura 2000 protected area.

Achna reservoir, in the Famagusta district, a place of natural beauty, is home to rich wildlife, including birds and foxes.

On many days, deafening shots are heard and the sky is filled with pellets, the same pellets that killed the long-legged buzzard – a large bird of prey and the only buzzard species that breeds in Cyprus.

Efforts to stop illegal hunting and dumping of rubbish are mainly in the hands of individuals, who cannot bear to turn a blind eye.

Dobri Radev is one such person.

The Cyprus Mail listened to his account of the events.

In disbelief, he began by thanking us repeatedly for contacting him, saying we were the first to do so.

“The situation is very bad,” Radev – an avid photographer, drawn to the reservoir for the birds – told the Cyprus Mail.

Radev said he had contacted many media and organisations, as well as authorities, and his pleas had met very little interest.

“Someone came from the Department of Environment which is responsible for the dam to see the situation and promised they would speak with the Avgorou community and that the rubbish would be cleared,” Radev said.

“The department said it was the Avgorou community that was responsible because the area was in the village’s area. The community leader said the responsibility was with the Water Development Department,” he said.

In the end, “the Water Development Department sued the community for polluting the environment.”

“We don’t know when the case will be tried,” Radev added.

Referring to the pollution, Radev pointed out that “everyone dumps rubbish there.”

“Also, flocks graze nearby and there is another problem – when the animals die, they dump them there. There are carcasses there.”

He said that “on top of all that, when the weather is warmer and the birds come out, so do the hunters.”

Radev contacted the Game and Fauna Service, which said it “cannot do much as it only has one patrol every day and doesn’t have time to go everywhere.”

“Things are out of control,” he stressed.

Radev said environmental organisations were not able to help.

“We found a dead buzzard. This is very serious but no one lifted a finger,” he said.

Voice trembling, he said this “beautiful long-legged buzzard died in my arms.”

“I found him shot in the area. Even though the Game and Fauna Service collected it from me and organisations were aware of the event, it did not receive widespread attention.”

Radev, who has been living in Cyprus for the past seven years, took photos of people hunting illegally in the area and took them to the police, who said there was nothing they could do as it was illegal to take photos.

The British bases, on the other hand, “managed to arrest one of the people in the photos and put him in prison.”

At a Cyprus Mail suggestion, Radev contacted the Cyprus Greens, who told him they would take the issue to parliament to determine who the land belonged to and consequently who was responsible for looking after it.

Radev hopes that if he keeps knocking on doors, one will open and the way will be paved for conserving other such sites.

Unfortunately, he said, Achna reservoir is one of many sad places in Cyprus.