Wildlife unites Greek and Turkish Cypriot scientists

There's something peculiarly regal in the sprightly step and curious gaze of the long-horn sheep that roam this hilly ground near Varisia, an abandoned village inside a United Nations-controlled buffer zone cutting across ethnically divided Cyprus.

The endangered Mouflon sheep that's endemic to the east Mediterranean island nation is one of many rare plant and animal species that have flourished in this no-man's land that stretches 120 miles (180 km) and divides a breakaway north from an internationally recognized south.

Devoid of human habitation since the 1974 war which spawned the country's ethnic cleave, the buffer zone has by circumstance become an unofficial wildlife reserve where species including the threatened Egyptian fruit bat, the endemic bee orchid and the Eurasian Thick-knee - a dwindling species of shorebird - have multiplied largely unperturbed.

This unlikely refuge has been embraced by a Greek Cypriot and a Turkish Cypriot environmental scientist as an open-air laboratory where the country's complex politics and physical divisions are 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 by training, 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 within the no-man's land were important for 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 had 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 garnered international accolades and 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.

Located in the island's remote northeast, Varisia offered the scientists a deeper understanding of nature's dynamics in a formerly inhabited area.

Abandoned in the wake of a 1974 Turkish invasion prompted by coup aimed at union with Greece, the village's empty crumbling homes stand as a silent witness to conflict.

But for Gucel, the area spoke volumes about how to be more sensitive toward the environment and to have a common implementation plan and laws to protect the entire island's ecosystem.

The scientists' efforts to engage experts from both sides of the divide on environmental protection in an ongoing project.

Earlier this year, Gucel became the co-head of the Environmental Committee, a body whose purpose is to promote cooperation idea-sharing on environmental issues island-wide.

Charalambidou currently serves on the board of directors of the Cyprus Environmental Stateholder Forum - a bicommunal group of scientists - which she says has a vision to tackle environmental issues in Cyprus as one united island.

She said the Forum is now in consultations with the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus to formulate the group's work plan and communications campaign that's scheduled to be launched soon.

UN peacekeeping force spokesman Aleem Siddique said a groundswell of interest on environmental issues has been evident especially among young people who have been coming together online to share ideas on how to tackle environmental challenges.

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

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

For instance, safeguarding fragile areas inside the buffer zone could be part of an overall plan to develop ecotourism and agrotourism-based businesses producing and marketing high-grade food products from which area residents could profit.

Despite progress, there's still a long way to go in raising environmental awareness among all Cypriots and as a primary policy concern, say Charalambidou and Gucel.

Illegal dumping and poaching are still a problem within the buffer zone.

Meanwhile, a bicommunal committee on the environment that had been set up as a confidence-building measure remains dormant.