Environmentalists call for ‘aerial intervention’ to protect Cyprus’ pines

Environmentalists on Tuesday called for “aerial intervention” by way of spraying pine trees with pesticides to save them from pine processionary moths, which are known to damage and even kill pine trees.

The north’s environmental platform said it had earlier requested a meeting with ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel to “discuss the urgency of aerial biological spraying” and to win his support for a tender to be put out for such activities, but that they had not received a response.

It said aerial spraying of pine trees should be done between September and December every year, and that “spraying season must not be missed this year”.

Their words were echoed by the Cyprus Turkish medical association (KTTB)’s environment officer Cemal Mert, who said pine trees in the north have not been sprayed for three years, and that for this reason, the “damage threshold” has been exceeded.

“Great damage has been caused in many forest areas, and the insects have spread to places where people live, including schools, barracks and parks, and have also harmed people and animals,” he said.

He said ‘agriculture minister’ Huseyin Cavus had promised to begin aerial spraying and that a draft protocol on the matter had been agreed, but that Cavus had then “shelved” the draft.

“While it is clear that the tender process should have been completed by the end of July or the beginning of August at the absolute latest so as to not miss the aerial spraying season … there has been no information that the agriculture ministry or the forestry department has started any such process,” he added.

He also said aerial spraying had been carried out until 2020, with a success rate of 99 per cent, but that operations had been “disrupted in the last three years”.

The pine processionary moth feeds on the needles of pine trees, and in large numbers can severely defoliate them. It is also known to weaken trees, making them more susceptible to other pests and diseases.

In addition, they pose a significant threat to human health, on account of their toxic hairs, which can cause skin rashes, eye and throat irritation, and breathing problems.

They are now found across large swathes of Europe, including on both sides of Cyprus, with Fikardou mukhtar Christos Tyrimos telling the Cyprus Mail last year that areas of his local forest “looked like they had been burned in a fire”.