Lady\u2019s Mile is a 5km long beach with exceptional ecological value, that supports a plethora of plants and animals. Located no more than 15 minutes away from Limassol city centre, it is an easy escape from the overpopulated, busy streets for both locals and tourists.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
It is said that the Lady\u2019s Mile beach got its name from one of the British governors, during British rule, who used to exercise his horse \u2018Lady\u2019 along the beach. Others prefer to use another name for the beach, that of Aplostra beach. Today Lady\u2019s Mile or Aplostra is known for its sandy, shallow waters, and picturesque coastline. It is also part of a dynamic, mosaic landscape, which contains a variety of habitats, perfect for supporting biodiversity.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The sandy beaches of Lady\u2019s Mile are not just a holiday destination but also a biodiversity hotspot. Amongst others, it is a nesting ground for sea turtles, Caretta caretta<\/em> (Loggerhead) and the Chelonia mydas (<\/em>Green Sea turtle). Both species are legally protected under national, international and EU legislations. Since the area lies within the SBAs, the sea turtles there are protected under the Protection and Management of Nature and Wildlife Ordinance 2007, which reflects the EU Habitats Directive, forbidding any attempt to destroy or harm sea turtle nests and\/or eggs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Sea turtles, like many animals, play an important role in maintaining coral reefs and keeping the seagrass beds healthy, as well as ensuring a balance in the sensitive marine food web. Female sea turtles travel thousands of kilometres in their lifetime. A sexually mature female will visit our sandy beaches every two to three years in order to lay her eggs. A nest will take an average of 50 days to hatch. Baby turtles are phototactic and will follow the brightest light. In most cases they follow the moonlight towards the sea, but sometimes they follow streetlights or other lights coming from nearby businesses, moving away from the sea. Sea turtles are philopatric, meaning they will visit the area where they were hatched to lay their eggs once they reach maturity.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n There are currently renovations taking place on Lady\u2019s Mile and there are plans to design and implement an adjustment scheme for the area with an environmentally friendly road and so on. How can one guarantee actions like the addition of sunbeds right near the sea, the removal of barricades for easy beach access, or bringing in red soil to plant invasive trees in the area will not put further pressure on sensitive species?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Oh wait, all this sounds a bit familiar. It should, since this is what we unfortunately witnessed, amongst several other illegal and environmentally harmful activities, during the summer of 2022.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Terra Cypria \u2013 The Cyprus Conservation Foundation, in collaboration with the SBA Environmental Department, monitors Lady\u2019s Mile\u2019s sandy beaches during nesting season (between May-August) and coordinates a team of volunteers that closely monitor the nesting grounds for sea turtle tracks as well as any activity that can disturb the turtle habitat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n With this volunteer monitoring scheme, we try to spot tracks leading to potential nests as soon as possible and inform the specialised scientific team of the SBA Environmental Department to assess the situation and protect successful nests. Every year we spot several nesting attempts, and we usually have an average of seven or eight successful nests there.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n What was noticed this year was a decrease in turtle nesting attempts on the Lady\u2019s Mile beaches. At the same time, we saw severe habitat interventions from various development activities that interfered on the nesting grounds. We also observed extensive vehicle tracks revealing a serious obstacle to nesting efforts from people driving on the beaches and perhaps compacting and even destroying nests, before they are even spotted.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Several turtle tracks showed obvious signs of disturbance. The sea turtles were moving in various directions on the beach, desperate to lay their eggs but had to go back to the water because they kept bumping into things, beach beds and other obstacles.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The main question running through our minds is whether sea turtles will have a place to come back to and nest again in the following years.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Sea turtles are very sensitive to disturbances and will abort their eggs in the water when they fail to lay them on the beach. In the case of successful hatching, only 1 in 1000 turtles survive to reach sexual maturity. So, the protection of even one nest with 50 to 150 eggs in it is of much importance. During our monitoring this nesting season at Lady\u2019s Mile, only three turtle nests were located.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Human presence in the area is very noticeable. No one expects that the area will not been visited by people, especially during summer months. As stated above Lady\u2019s Mile is a well-known and extremely beautiful beach which receives thousands of visitors throughout the year and especially during the summer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n However, it is of great importance when visiting such an area to know about and recognise its importance and leave nothing behind except your footprints. Litter on the beach and in the broader area, driving off the designated roads, parking on sensitive sand dunes, which amongst others are home to one of the most endangered lizards in Cyprus, the Schreiber\u2019s fringe-fingered lizard or Acanthodactylus schreiberi<\/em>, <\/em>are some of the activities we should not be witnessing in this sensitive area.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Biodiversity and its natural habitats have to be taken into serious consideration when developments take place in an area, whether these are road improvements, restaurant renovations or anything else. Healthy and complex ecosystems are the Earth\u2019s natural mechanism to mitigate and adjust to climate change and support human life. Sustainable developments on sensitive wetlands, such as the Lady\u2019s Mile, can enhance a visitor\u2019s experience while at the same time safeguarding successful nesting and reproduction of sea turtles.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Here are a<\/em> few rules for visiting Lady\u2019s Mile beach that help sea turtles:<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Coming to conservation actions and the protection of the Lady\u2019s Mile and its biodiversity, Terra Cypria led a two-year long project, which started in October 2020, with the main goal being to restore Mediterranean wetland of utmost importance for biodiversity. The project is called MedIsWet<\/a> and is run in collaboration with SBA authorities and the Limassol and the Sewage Board of Limassol-Amathous. Some of the core actions carried out were the removal of 400 cubic metres of garbage from sensitive areas, the destruction of motocross tracks illegally created in the area, and the blockage of uncontrolled access for cars and the public within the sensitive areas of the Salt Lake using rock boulders.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n