Every year, the arrival of flamingos to Cyprus’s coastal lakes is a beautiful natural event. The first groups of birds have already been seen at Larnaca Salt Lake, starting their winter stay. However, this wonderful sight is now connected to serious worry. Conservation groups have announced a clear and continuing drop in the number of flamingos spending the winter on the island. Because of this, they have started an important ten-year protection project.
For over twenty years, the national Game and Fauna Service and BirdLife Cyprus have carefully counted the birds. Their data shows a worrying trend. Nikos Kassinis, a Senior Officer, shared the numbers at a recent international flamingo meeting. "From 2013 until now, we see a decline of 14 to 31 percent," he said. Although between five and ten thousand flamingos still visit Cyprus each winter, the decrease is clear.
The reasons for this decline are complex and are mostly caused by human activity. Experts blame a mix of climate and human pressures. Repeated droughts shrink the wetlands, and polluted water damages these areas. This greatly reduces the tiny aquatic animals that flamingos eat. Also, building projects and other disruptive activities near these sensitive lakes are destroying the flamingos' winter homes. Key affected places include the salt lakes in Larnaca and Akrotiri, as well as lakes in Paralimni, Oroklini, and the Famagusta region.
To fight this problem, a major conservation project has begun. The ten-year Pandotira Project is partly funded by the European Union. Its goal is to fill the gaps in our knowledge that stop effective protection. The project will carefully measure the different threats and study what flamingos exactly need to live in Cyprus. It will focus on protected wetland areas, aiming to turn science into practical action.
The falling number of flamingos is about more than just one species. These birds are like a warning signal; their health shows the health of the entire wetland. Their decline means these important ecosystems across the Eastern Mediterranean are in trouble. Therefore, the success of the Pandotira Project is crucial. It hopes to not only help the flamingos recover but also to restore and manage Cyprus’s protected wetlands for the future. Keeping the famous sight of flamingos against the sunset will require action based on science.