*By Andria Papadopoulou

Athalassa Forest Park is sending out a warning signal. Dozens of trees are “bending” under the strain of the drought, a phenomenon that is causing concern among both visitors and the relevant authorities.

The TV show “Alpha Enimerosi” and journalist Olga Konstantinou conducted an on-site investigation and documented the shocking conditions in the area. According to experts, the tree die-off is a result of climate change, the prolonged droughts of recent years, and the increasingly severe conditions of drought and high temperatures.

Glafkos Kyriakou, Director of the Forestry Department, described this as a Cyprus-wide phenomenon and maintained that it is not the result of inaction on the part of the relevant authorities. As he explained, climatic conditions make coniferous trees more vulnerable to secondary infestations by wood-boring insects and diseases.

He noted that the Forestry Department is implementing a comprehensive management program aimed at addressing this issue, which includes the removal of dead and hazardous trees, setting traps to monitor and control wood-boring insects, combating pine wilt disease, as well as the gradual replacement of the most vulnerable species with others that are better adapted to both current and future climatic conditions.

At the same time, the use of recycled water to support plant growth is being promoted, and a system for this purpose has already begun operating in the park of the Academy of Education, in the Arona area.

In addition, targeted irrigation using tanker trucks is carried out during the summer months. This system aims to gradually expand the use of recycled water to other sections of the Athalassa National Forest Park.