Biologists defy Cyprus' ethnic divide to protect environment

NICOSIA, CYPRUS – There's something regal in the sprightly step and curious gaze of the longhorn sheep that roam the hills near Varisia, an abandoned village inside a U.N. buffer zone that cuts across ethnically divided Cyprus.

The endangered Mouflon sheep that's endemic to the eastern Mediterranean island nation is one of many rare plant and animal species that have flourished in this no man's land, which stretches for 120 miles and divides the island's breakaway north from its internationally recognized south.

Devoid of human habitation since a 1974 war that spawned the country's ethnic cleave, the buffer zone has become an unofficial wildlife reserve. Its residents include the threatened Egyptian fruit bat, the bee orchid and the Eurasian Thick-knee, a dwindling species of shorebird also known as a stone-curlew. All have multiplied largely unperturbed.

This unlikely refuge has been embraced by two environmental scientists, one Greek Cypriot and one Turkish Cypriot, as an open-air laboratory where complex politics and physical divisions can be put aside to focus on the overriding concern of protecting the parched country's fragile ecosystem.

Greek Cypriot Iris Charalambidou and Turkish Cypriot Salih Gucel, both biologists, headed a pioneering survey in 2007 that explored the thriving flora and fauna inside the buffer zone.

Among the survey's findings were that some areas in the no man's land were important for the birds that use Cyprus as a stopover during spring and autumn migration, like buzzards, ospreys and harriers, as well as the Northern lapwing whose numbers in Europe have been in decline. Another important finding was that of the Cyprus spiny mouse, a rare endemic species not frequently found elsewhere on the island.

The survey provided impetus to a budding ecological consciousness-raising on the island. It also underscored the need for cooperation for the sake of what all Cypriots share — their environment.

The scientists' efforts to engage experts from both sides of the political divide on environmental protection is an ongoing project. U.N. peacekeeping force spokesman Aleem Siddique said there's been a groundswell of interest in environmental issues, especially among young people who come together online to share ideas on how to tackle environmental challenges.

"We see a lot of interest from people on both sides of the island to bridge the divide, work together, overcome the mistrust for the common good of building a more environmentally friendly Cyprus," Siddique said.

If Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders overcome deep political differences and forge a peace accord reunifying the country, the buffer zone that makes up 3% of Cyprus' total land mass will revert to human use as people reclaim their property.

In that scenario, both Charalambidou and Gucel say environmental protection within the buffer zone should be carefully thought out in full collaboration with local communities.