Cyprus water issues

Poland is quite often juxtaposed with Cyprus (more precisely, the Greek-speaking Republic of Cyprus, RC) in statistics on the lowest water reserves. In trying to cope with this situation, RC has become a real pioneer in the field of artificial retention. The authorities have built numerous reservoirs on all rivers, increasing the country’s retention capacity from about 6 million^m3 in 1960 to 327 million^m3 in 2009. This has made RC one of the world’s most highly developed countries in terms of water infrastructure.

In recent years, desalination of seawater has also been taken up. This is supposed to stem the intrusion of Mediterranean water into aquifers, while at the same time providing drinking water. The third front in the fight against shortages has become the more thorough treatment of gray water, and its subsequent use in agriculture. Despite all these efforts, in 2008 fresh water had to be delivered to the island by tankers from mainland Greece [1, 6, 8].

The rich South and the poor North

The Turkish part of Cyprus (Northern Cyprus) is doing things a little differently. It is supplied by the world’s longest (107 kilometers, of which 80.15 kilometers are under the sea) undersea water pipeline, The Northern Cyprus Water Supply Project, starting in the mountains of Turkey. The project was completed with a year’s delay, opening ceremonially on October 8, 2015.

The 1600 mm diameter pipe is made of high-density polyethylene. The bulk of it runs roughly 250 meters below the surface of the sea. The entire investment cost 450 million dol. (390 million euros, so 1,000 times less than the KPO for Poland). The pipeline transfers 75 million^{cubic meters of} water a year from the dam lake at the Alaköprü dam on the Anamur-Dragon stream in Turkey to the Geçitköy reservoir in North Cyprus. This is a true engineering marvel in a country that still uses tankers as in Phoenician times, and most private wells have had to be backfilled due to poisoning caused by leaking neighboring septic tanks. It also can’t retrench too much of its rivers’ resources, as streams flowing to the Turkish side of the border have been diverted by the Greek Cypriots. We are referring in particular to the watercourses: Yesilirmak, Kamburdere, Madendere, Lefke deres, Ganlidere, Taslidere, Dogance and Guzelyurt deres, carrying 43 million^{m3 of} water annually.

Political conflicts and even wars over water are not a new topic. We have already mentioned in Water Matters the work on the Yarlung Tsanpo, cutting off India from the Brahmaputra. There is a growing conflict between Ethiopia and Egypt over the waters of the upper Nile and its mountainous tributaries. But let’s return to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Only 40 dams with reservoirs have been built here. Their retention capacity varies from 2,000 to 4.5 million^{cubic meters}, and the total retention capacity can reach 21 million^{cubic meters} per year [7, 9, 10].

The same as always, only more

Droughts are not new to Cyprus. For thousands of years, the island’s agriculture and commerce have suffered every 2-3 years from water shortages. Due to its great strategic and commercial, now also tourist, importance, resulting from its location at the tri-junction of Africa, Asia Minor and Europe, the place remains quite densely populated. According to the Köppen-Geiger climate classification, the island is characterized by a typically Mediterranean, semi-desert climate, with a hot dry season, lasting from April to October, and a cooler, rainy season, stretching from November to March.

Nearly 60 percent of precipitation falls between December and February. The heaviest downpours (450 to 1,100 mm) fall on the southern, windward slopes of the Troodos Mountains, especially in their subpeak areas. Leeward slopes remain much drier. It rains the least on the central and southeastern plains of the island (close to 300-350 mm).

Meteorological data confirm that for a couple of decades Cyprus’ climate has become hotter, more desert-like. Between 1931 and 1960, an average of 524mm of rain fell annually; between 1961 and 1990, only 500mm fell, and 1971-2000, less than 460mm per year. Year-round rivers disappeared, and then those returning regularly each rainy season.

For the first four years of the 21st century. Cyprus struggled with record low rainfall and consequent depletion or salinization of aquifers. The year 2008 remains in the islanders’ memory as a time of exceptionally severe water crisis. The erection of new dams improved some statistics, created many additional jobs and brought huge profits to the construction industry [1, 7, 8, 9]. Birds previously not nesting in Cyprus have also benefited, such as the pintail, grebe, mallard, water cockatoo and golden heron, or extremely few until the 1980s such as the lapwing [2]. In the lower parts of the rivers, however, water flows much less frequently and the groundwater deposits there have ceased to recover.

In a fishless world?

Dam lakes and even sewage treatment plant outlets can sometimes be a blessing for water birds, but what about fish! Especially the migratory ones. The construction of dams in Cyprus, at least officially, has proved much less harmful than in mainland Europe, since the island’s fresh waters were almost fishless by nature. According to most researchers, since the Messinian Crisis (5.96 million years ago), only 3 species of native fish have been found in the rivers and lakes of Cyprus: the European eel, the river slip Salaria fluviatilis and the striped carp Aphanius fasciatus. The lower sections of the rivers were also sometimes frequented by mugiliforms, most notably the Roman terror of adulterers – the cephalus(lobana) Mugil cephalus.

The first three are widespread, highly euryhaline species, typical of sweetened estuaries, capable of thriving in both warm, full salt seas and the cold, fresh waters of inland mountain springs, sometimes hundreds of kilometers from the mouth. The modern ichthyofauna of Cyprus is much richer thanks to stocking. The zoocenoses are clearly distinguished:

• Trout dam reservoirs (where rainbow trout and brook trout/lake trout predominate);
• Eel/carp dam reservoirs (where carp predominate, both the intentionally imported carp and Chinese carp, as well as introduced involuntarily with their narrines krp, roach or common bleak. Among the representatives of other families there is a malarial mosquito slayer dotted gambusia and angling attractions: largemouth bass, sun bass, dwarf catfish plus some tilapia, probably golden or Nile);
• fast-flowing rivers and canals (again, rainbow trout and brook trout predominate);
• lower sections and estuaries, extremely already sparse and/or functioning for only a few weeks in heavily rainy summers [11].

Lord, there are no fish here!

The actual distribution and abundance of the above-mentioned fish species, confirmed by electrofishing, looks worse than the declarations of the administration and the angling business. Eels were confirmed at only 4 of the more than officially existing 50 sites. The river slip has not been seen since 2003. Interestingly, it is a species often cited as an example from the island by foreign ichthyologists, while unknown even by hearsay or foreign conferences to Cypriot researchers and anglers. Studies conducted within the framework of citizen science and completed in 2023 using eDNA (environmental DNA) did not reveal the presence of this slug [11, 13].

Instead, for the first time in history, the presence of typically marine chelonians (the golden Chelon auratus and the thick-bodied Chelon labratus) was demonstrated, including further from the estuaries. Could it be that the waters of the streams have become as salty as our Oder River? Carp and Clarias gariepinus (African catfish) were bred in Cyprus already by the ancient Romans. On the other hand, there are claims that the island’s native ichthyofauna may have been much richer. It would have looked similar to that of Madagascar, that is, it would have consisted of a greater number of endemic forms from marine ancestors [11, 13].

The world of amphibians does not look particularly rich either. Instead, it turned out to be extremely distinct from neighboring Anatolia, northern Africa and other large Mediterranean islands. In fact, there are only 3 species of amphibians in Cyprus, including 2 endemic ones. The first is the Savigny’s riverine Hyla savignyi, widely distributed in Asia Minor, northern Africa and southern Europe. The group of faunal peculiarities is represented by those found nowhere else:

• Cyprus toad Bufotes cypriensis, closely related to our green toad;
• and the Cypriot frog Pelophylax cypriensis, standing close to our green frog complex (klepton of frogs: laughing frog, lake frog and water frog), probably descended to P. bedriagae from the Levant [1] .

Associated with streams with cool and humid microclimates, the cyprinid hierophis cypriensis was quite strongly associated with streams. In the past, it mainly hunted amphibians and mammals coming to the watering hole. Nowadays, however, it is increasingly common in Phrygian and other dry, but relatively food-rich, environments [1].

Some 12-13 thousand years ago, Cyprus had its own endemic species of dwarf hippopotamus Hippopotamus minor. In size it resembled the dwarf hippopotamus of Liberia, although it was supposedly descended from the large African hippopotamuses we know so well. Without the rains, the Cypriot meadows, full of local orchids, gladioli and wild tulips, would disappear [1, 7].

Misfortunes walk in pairs

Droughts are not the only problem facing Cyprus’ endemic flora and fauna. Suffice it to mention that none of the horticultural companies offering orchids, tulips and gladiolas from the island in the EU and the US obtained their seeds or bulbs legally, nor did they have approvals for further propagation and resale of the plants [3]. A bird ringing station on the Karpaz peninsula was established only last year. Cypriot law allows the extermination of such pests as thrushes and field larks. Admittedly, capturing hooded warblers with sticks and nets was outlawed during the British occupation, but it remains an important part of tradition and the local economy. The low selectivity of these methods contributes to the capture of hundreds of other species. Only the harnessing of eDNA barcodes made it possible to identify ambelopulas served in Cypriot restaurants. Misfortune walks in pairs – birders on both sides of the border, as well as on British military bases, are planting Acacia saligna (an IGO eradicated ex-officio in the EU) as a particularly good species for baiting [12].

Water sweeter, but air dirtier

Desalination of seawater is a necessity and a common practice in countries in the Middle East, Australia or California. We have already mentioned in Water Matters that it has to be done with head! It’s worth tapping into the climate-friendly energy of the sun (which is roasting ever harder in the eastern Mediterranean), possibly wind and tidal energy. Nonetheless, still the bulk of the energy used in Cyprus for the ongoing desalination of water and subsequent regeneration of reverse osmosis filters comes from burning fossil fuels [6, 7, 9, 10].

In the sea cleaner

The poor state of freshwater is contrasted by the excellent state of marine waters. Both Cyprus countries boast the cleanest bathing beaches in Europe and the world. Another source of pride is the harmonious reconciliation of tourism development with nature conservation, especially sea turtle nesting grounds. Cyprus’ beaches remain important egg-laying sites for the loggerhead turtle (giant tortoise) Chelonia mydas and the Caretta caretta . The great news is the return of the dandelion Monachus monachus to the shores and waters surrounding the island, including the birth of healthy baby seals. Perhaps, however, this is just an observational artifact, caused by the conduct of monitoring. Scientists and social scientists also appreciate the conservation actions of lesser-known species, especially the critically endangered black-bearded rocha Glaucostegus cemiculus and the noble mollusk Pinna nobilis [4, 5].

Forecasts for the future are not very optimistic

Predictions from the World Bank Climate Change portal warn that the entire eastern Mediterranean region, including Cyprus, will continue to warm, experiencing worsening droughts and fires. More detailed climate models for the regions, created from global circulation models and then scaled up for regional use, suggest a temperature rise of some 3°C by the middle of the 21st century, and more than 4°C by the end of the 21st. It will warm most during the summer months, which are already too hot for most tourists. Average annual precipitation will continue to decline. It will decline by nearly 15-25 percent, exacerbating the water crisis consuming agriculture and municipal economies on both sides of the Cyprus-Cyprus border [1, 6, 8, 9].

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In the article I used, among others:

1. Delipetrou, P., Makhzoumi, J., Dimopoulos, P., & Georghiou, K. (2008). Cyprus. In Mediterranean island landscapes: natural and cultural approaches (pp. 170-203). Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands.
2. Flint, P. (2019). Long-term changes in the numbers and abundance of regularly breeding land bird species on Cyprus: A review. Sandgrouse, 41(1), 36-70.
3. Krigas, N., Menteli, V., Chrysanthou, P., & Vokou, D. (2017). The electronic trade in endemic plants of Cyprus through the Internet. Plant Biosystems-An International Journal Dealing with all Aspects of Plant Biology, 151(3), 387-393.
4. Nicolaou, H., Dendrinos, P., Marcou, M., Michaelides, S., & Karamanlidis, A. A. (2021). Re-establishment of the Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus in Cyprus: priorities for conservation. Oryx, 55(4), 526-528.
5. Shearer, I., Pelgrims, R., Fuller, W. J., Çanakçı, T., Sinkovec, P., Kıral, D., & Türkozan, O. (2025). Sea turtle (Testudines: Cheloniidae) strandings and rehabilitation in Northern Cyprus. Zoology in the Middle East, 1-12.
6. Agboola, O. P., & Egelioglu, F. (2012). Water scarcity in North Cyprus and solar desalination research: a review. Desalination and Water Treatment, 43(1-3), 29-42.
7. Papadaskalopoulou, C., Giannakopoulos, C., Lemesios, G., Zachariou-Dodou, M., & Loizidou, M. (2015). Challenges for water resources and their management in light of climate change: the case of Cyprus. Desalination and Water Treatment, 53(12), 3224-3233.
8. Papadopoulou, M. P., Charchousi, D., Spanoudaki, K., Karali, A., Varotsos, K. V., Giannakopoulos, C., … & Loizidou, M. (2020). Agricultural water vulnerability under climate change in Cyprus. Atmosphere, 11(6), 648.
9. Park, E. J. (2020). Strategy of water distribution for sustainable community: who owns water in divided Cyprus? Sustainability, 12(21), 8978.
10. Sofroniou, A., & Bishop, S. (2014). Water scarcity in Cyprus: a review and call for integrated policy. Water, 6(10), 2898-2928.
11. Zogaris, S., Chatzinikolaou, Y., Koutsikos, N., Economou, A. N., Oikonomou, E., Michaelides, G., … & Ferreira, M. T. (2012). Freshwater fish assemblages in Cyprus with emphasis on the effects of dams. Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria, 42, 165-175.
12. Shialis, T., & Stylianou, N. (2015). Campaigning against illegal bird trapping in Cyprus. Sustaining Partnerships, 121.
13. https://cyprusenvironment.org/areas-of-interest/biodiversity-conservation/