Stepping Up the Fight Against Environmental Crime
In a significant move to bolster environmental protection, Cyprus is set to establish a dedicated task force responsible for conducting inspections aimed at curbing environmental crime. This development was announced on Tuesday, marking a crucial step in aligning the country with its European counterparts.
The newly formed unit will consist of 15 inspectors, known as Environmental Inspectors, with a mandate covering a vast array of activities and locations that fall under environmental regulation. The cabinet of ministers greenlit the initiative in November 2023, recognizing the need to bridge a significant gap in the enforcement of green legislation.
The recruitment process will kick off with ten environmental officers and five technical experts, with plans to expand the workforce in the coming years. The ministry of agriculture has already requested 55 additional posts to support this expansion. This action aligns with President Nikos Christodoulides’s pre-election commitment to establish a service dedicated to overseeing environmental laws and safeguarding public health.
The formation of the task force is also a proactive measure in meeting the EU’s environmental acquis and preparing for the ambitious net-zero policy outlined in the Green Deal. To enhance the ministry’s enforcement capabilities, three specialized sub-departments are proposed, focusing on air pollution, waste management, and emissions respectively, each allocated with a specific number of staff.
The success of Cyprus’s “green policing” will hinge on effective collaboration with various authorities, including police, legal services, customs, and licensing authorities. The aim is to create a more robust system than the current one, which suffers from inconsistency and instability due to a lack of specialized inspectors.
With this new task force, Cyprus is taking a decisive step towards ensuring that environmental regulations are not just on paper but are actively enforced, creating a level playing field for all companies and protecting the island’s natural resources for future generations.
