Review for building knowledge database and consensus report on recommendation on wlaw

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6REGULATORY AND LEGAL BACKGROUND IN THE FIELD OF WATER RESOURCES IN CYPRUS

By. Pr Dora Chimonidou (ARI)

6.1General description of the national legislation on water resources:

The existing legislation in Cyprus is rather complex and is covered by numerous laws some of which have been in existence since the colonial administration of Cyprus by the United Kingdon (1878-1960). Legal power is currently divided between several Ministries: The Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Health etc. Within the Ministry for Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment, different Departments are responsible for specific water related issues. As a result of this situation the WDD and the District Officers, to name just two, execute overlapping jurisdictions, leading to decisions taken by one authority without seeking concurrence from the other authority, which is responsible too. The consequences are conflicting resolutions that do not always contribute to the efficient and integrated management of water. The reason for which conflicting resolutions arise is due to the fact that there is no overarching " National Water Authority" yet in Cyprus that will resolve disputes arising among Government Departments.

The efforts of the Government to concentrate the responsibilities for water issues in the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resource and Environment are visible in the laws passed during the last few years, while most of the old laws still in force furnish legal power to the District Officers.
As regards the harmonization with E.U. legislation there are some concerns that the E.U. Directives are just translated into Greek and become Cyprus law without a real harmonization, i.e. a real adjustment to the already existing legal framework and local conditions does not take place. If this view is correct there might be problems in implementation and enforcement with, again, overlapping jurisdictions etc. The extent of this problem will be revealed during the next few years. It is expected that the National Water Authority under formation will accelerate the thorough implementation of EU Directives.

6.2List of main national laws:

Reference	Focus	Content	Implementation status
Government Waterworks Law (Cap. 341 as amended)	Water rights	All surface, ground- and wastewater is vested to the Government and the written permission of the District Officer is required before any such water may be taken or used	Full: the law is thoroughly understood and respected by all stakeholders
Immoveable Property Laws (Cap 223, 224)	Water rights, Water Quantity	Determination of old existing water rights (so-called ab antiquo water rights, often related to Irrigation Associations), which supersede the regulations established under the Government Waterworks Law mentioned above.	Full: the law is thoroughly understood and respected by all stakeholders
Wells Law (Cap 351 as amended)	Water Allocation, Water Quantity	Permits for well construction and for abstraction from a well; establishment of scope of rights of owners of existing wells	Partial: the monitoring of abstraction volumes is lax and insufficient, so no exact amounts of abstraction may be established
Water Supply (Special Measures) Law of 1964	Water Quantity, Water Quality, Water Allocation	Limitation/prohibition of well construction in areas of groundwater deterioration (quantity and quality)	Partial: illegal wells are sunk are in areas where this is prohibited by the law
Irrigation Divisions (Villages) Law (Cap 342 as amended)	Water Tariffs	Empowers the Irrigation Divisions to set their own rates and charges for irrigation water	Full: the law is thoroughly understood and respected by all stakeholders
Water Supply (Municipal & Other Areas) Law (Cap 350)	Water Tariffs	Furnishes to the Boards the power to impose their own rates and charges for the supply of domestic and industrial water, which however need the approval of the Council of Ministers and the Parliament.	Full: the law is thoroughly understood and respected by all stakeholders
Mines and Quarries Law (Cap 270)	Water Quality	Renders an offence the pollution of any water. Water used for mining operations must not leave the mining area if it contains substances detrimental to human, animal, or vegetable life.	Full: the law is thoroughly understood and respected by all stakeholders. However, monitoring of the implementation could be improved.
Quality of Water for Human Consumption (Inspection and Control) Law (L.87(I)/01)	Water Quality	Harmonizes Cyprus legislation with the E.U. Drinking Water Directives (Directives 80/778/EC, 98/83/EC)	Full: the law is thoroughly understood and respected by all stakeholders
Evaluation of the Consequences to the Environment from Specific Projects Law (L.57(I)/01)	Water Quality	Defines the role of the environmental authority in project evaluation. Transposes the provisions of the E.U. Directives and Decisions on the lists of waste and hazardous waste.	Full: the law is thoroughly understood and respected by all stakeholders
Water Pollution Control Law (L.106(I)/02)	Water Quality	Harmonizes Cyprus legislation with several E.U. Directives, e.g. the Directive on Integrated Pollution Prevention Control (IPPC, Directive 96/61/EC), the Nitrates Directive (Directive 91/676/EC), etc.	Ongoing
Water Protection and Management Law (L.13(I)/04	Water Quality, Tariffs, Sanctions	Harmonizes Cyprus legislation with the Directive 00/60/EC, i.e. the E.U. Water Framework Directive (WFD)	Ongoing

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