Ive been here 3 days now, learning about tree planting in arid lands from Cypriot foresters. At the Forestry School here they teach Forestry to students from places such as Jordan, Egypt, Eithopia and Libya to name a just few. The school is internationally renowned the forestry courses it provides.
Cyprus is indeed an arid country. Our first visit was too the Kouris Dam. A recent construction , it was filling up nicely 3 years ago, so much so that the water authority cancelled its de-salination building programme. 3 years later the dam is almost empty after failing rains and an ever increasing consumption. Water is rationed here and on 3 out of 4 days there is no water - the taps are turned off.
Even this action may not be enough, and creates its own problems. Sales of water tanks have soared as individuals hoard there own supply to see them through the ration days. In addition when the taps are turned off the supply pipes flatten, rupturing from the sudden pressure surge when they turned back on again creating leaks that are difficult to both locate and fix.
Were it not for Cyprus's Troodos Mountain Range, cloaked with forests of pine that attract and hold the clouds the country would be in a much dire state. About 900mm of rain falls on the Mountain every year and often several feet of snow too. All this helps to replenish the ground water and inturn the underwater aquifers.
But,with a dwindling supply how soon before the aquifer supplies dry up? Cyprus is praying for rain this winter.
