The grazing problem in the forests of Akamas peninsula in Cyprus

The Akamas peninsula is the northwestern end of Cyprus and it covers an area of 17.770 ha. Among them, 10.000 ha are private properties, 7.180 ha form the Akamas forests complex and the remaining are state land. The Akamas forests complex consists of the Akamas forest with an area of 5.809 ha, the Pegeia forest with an area of 1.360 ha and the Meleti forest with an area of 18 ha. There are eight villages and one municipality in the Akamas peninsula. At the largest part of the peninsula the vegetation is composed of Mediterranean shrubs known as maquis. The maquis are divided into two categories, the “high maquis” dominated by Juniperus phoenicea and the “low maquis” dominated by the Pistacia lentiscus, Salvia fruticosa and Cistus sp. The agricultural land is mainly covered by vines, carob trees, olive trees and cereals. The purpose of this research was to describe the current situation specific in peninsula and provide suggestions for solving the grazing problem. Livestock husbandry is highly developed in the area. According to the official census data of 2002, they graze 28.200 sheep and goats in the area. Among them, 13.200 animals graze both in private lands and state forests and 15.000 graze only in private lands. From the 13.200 animals that graze in private lands and state forests, 11.000 are goats and 2.200 sheep. Grazing is practiced according to the village system without transhumance, with or without the presence of a shepherd. The large number of goats in the area in combination with the absence of shepherds create serious overgrazing problems, which are very obvious in some particular areas.