Republic of Cyprus Second Voluntary National Report - Sustainable development goals

101 LIFE ON LAND SDG 15 | Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss Highlights – 2020 • The National Biodiversity Strategy, which was adopted in June 2020, includes actions and measures for all ecosystems (forest, freshwater, grassland etc.). • Protected areas in Cyprus consist of mainly mountain and freshwater ecosystems (about 80% is forest land and freshwater ecosystems). • Cyprus is one of the top 5 EU countries in the surface of terrestrial sites which are protected within the framework of Natura 2000. • The biochemical oxygen demand in rivers index shows that rivers in Cyprus are moderately and heavily polluted. Covid Response • COVID-19 has posed difficulties in keeping up with the plans and schedules set by the authorities responsible for biodiversity issues. However, these challenges are slowly overcome via the collaboration of key stakeholders and the use of technology. Looking Ahead • Cyprus needs to speed up the process of setting specific conservation and management measures that are legally binding and allow for better protection of habitats and species. • Protected areas and particularly their Management Plans are to be integrated in other policy areas (Common Agriculture Policy, Water Framework Directive, Forest Policy and Strategy, and in the Town and Planning Policy) which impact biodiversity, to ensure protection and restoration of mountain ecosystems (habitats and species), and enhance conservation. EU RANK TREND ECOSYSTEM STATUS Share of Forest Area (Forest and Other Wooded Land) 12 : Biochemical Oxygen Demand in Rivers 15 LAND DEGRADATION Soil Sealing Index 27 : Estimated Soil Erosion by Water - Area Affected 20 : BIODIVERSITY Surface of Terrestrial Sites Designated Under Natura 2000 5 Note: Data comes from the Statistical Service of Cyprus. EU rank presents the rank of Cyprus among the EU member states, for the most recent available year. Trend presents the 10-year trend from 2010-2019. Pos, Neg, Neg-Pos, and, Pos-Neg indicate a positive, a negative, a U-shape and an inverse U-shape trend, respectively. Green arrows indicate an improvement in the performance of Cyprus and red arrows indicate a decline in the performance of Cyprus. indicates a constant trend. : indicates that the trend is not calculated, because less than 8 years of data are available.