NEW TURKISH CYPRIOT ENVIRONMENT "MINISTER" FACES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 NICOSIA 001952

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/17/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL SENV ECON TU CY
SUBJECT: NEW TURKISH CYPRIOT ENVIRONMENT "MINISTER" FACES
UPHILL TASK

REF: NICOSIA 1691

Classified By: Ambassador Ronald L. Schlicher for reasons 1.4 (b, d).


1. (SBU) October's cabinet reshuffle in the "TRNC" has led to
the creation of a new Environment "Ministry." The new
"minister," political novice Asim Vehbi, faces an uphill
struggle against the Turkish Cypriots' traditionally cavalier
attitude towards environmental protection. Decision-makers
in the north have consistently favored economic development
over ecological concerns (especially when their own financial
or political interests have been at stake),and frequently
run roughshod over what few, anemic environmental regulations
the "TRNC" has in place. However, a growing sense that
ecotourism could play a more important and profitable role in
the north's economy -- combined with a public feeling that
development has begun to run amok -- has fueled calls for
stricter and more effective environmental regulation. As the
new "ministry" attempts to finesse the balance between
development and conservation, the "minister" must also
contend with internal bureaucratic struggles and the growing
pains of his newly-formed Freedom Party (OP). END SUMMARY.

Growing Pains At The New "Ministry"
--------------


2. (SBU) The Turkish Cypriot "Ministry of the Environment and
Natural Resources" was brought into existence by "Parliament"
in October 2006, in the wake of a controversial cabinet
reshuffle (reftel). Initial public expectations for the
"ministry's" success and effectiveness have been limited.
"PM" Ferdi Soyer's choice of political newcomer Asim Vehbi to
head the new "ministry" was widely viewed as a political move
designed to oust the DP of Serdar Denktash in favor of
Vehbi's fledging (and presumably more pliant) Freedom and
Reform Party (OP) -- rather than evidence of a real
commitment to environmental protection. Vehbi, who has spent
the majority of his career overseeing recruitment efforts at
the north's Girne American University, had no prior expertise
on environmental matters.


3. (C) Furthermore, the new "ministry" lacks a coherent
bureaucratic structure. It is cobbled together from several
departments that used to fall under other "cabinet" members,
and has been tasked to handle issues ranging from
environmental protection to management of the north's
antiquities and historical sites. In a meeting with Embassy
officers, Vehbi predicted that sorting out this bureaucratic
mess would be difficult. For the moment, his "ministry" even
lacked a single physical home, although he hoped he could
soon gather his physically scattered subordinates into a
single place, and that this would facilitate internal
coordination. Vehbi also complained that the "TRNC's" rigid,
centralized hiring system gave him very little leeway in
selecting his own staff, although he had managed to hire a
handful of specialized aides. Subsequent press reporting
indicated that the longtime "Director" of antiquities
resigned after Vehbi's decision to use a building that the
antiquities department had renovated for use as a museum in
northern Nicosia as the "ministry's" new offices. Usually
uninspired and silent, the "director's" rather public
resignation implied a heavyhanded and directed -- but
possibly practical -- approach by Vehbi to his office space
problem.


4. (C) Vehbi's bureaucratic problems will not be over,
however, even once his "ministry" is up and running. He
acknowledged to us that the "TRNC's" environmental
legislation is weak and lacks clarity. Several "ministries,"
including Interior, Economy and Tourism, Planning and
Transportation, and now Environment all play a role in
granting permission for construction of new hotels, for
example. Vehbi acknowledged that these interagency players
rarely coordinate their activities, and that the "TRNC" lacks
an overall plan to balance the demands of development with
the need for conservation and sustainability.


5. (C) In such cases where there is legislation designed to
assess or mitigate the environmental impact of development,
Vehbi freely acknowledges it is usually unenforced. Although
developers are required to submit an impact report for new
projects, these reports are frequently not filed until after
the project is completed, if at all. Vehbi recounted a
telling anecdote: a developer had recently invited him to
discuss the pending approval of the impact report for a new
hotel project -- and the meeting took place inside the
restaurant of the just-completed hotel.

Cleaning Up the Mess
--------------


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6. (SBU) Even if the creation of the Environment "Ministry"
was primarily motivated by politics, most observers agree
that that "TRNC" faces real environmental threats, and that
Vehbi's team has significant work to do. The northern part
of Cyprus, which was until recently an underdeveloped
economic and tourism backwater, is now faced with
unprecedented environmental challenges. To name a few:

-- Overdevelopment and Population Growth. Since 2003, there
has been a massive construction boom in the north, consisting
primarily of vacation homes for British holiday-makers, as
well as hotels, casinos, and restaurants catering to the
north's growing tourist traffic. Although there are
indications that this construction boom has cooled in recent
months, the sheer volume of new building has transformed the
north's previously under-developed landscape. The attendant
population growth (consisting of both holiday-makers and new
immigrants from Turkey, many of whom work in construction)
has strained water and energy resources, as well as sewage
infrastructure, to the breaking point.

-- Quarries. Vehbi has also identified quarrying, which
began in the north in the 1960s, as a significant long-term
threat to the "TRNC's" delicate, over-taxed water table. In
a recent press interview, Vehbi noted that there was no
significant regulatory control for quarrying. He threatened
to deny the renewal of operating licenses to quarries that do
not fulfill the limited legal obligations that do exist, and
has also banned the export (including sales to the south) of
some unprocessed stones, sand and gravel. Vehbi has
admitted, however, that long-term solutions, including
improvements in legislation and technology are far off.

-- Cyprus Mining Corporation (CMC). Not a new problem, the
defunct CMC copper mining operation in Lefke is an
environmental disaster area. Turkish Cypriot authorities
have been unable, so far, to properly diagnose the problem or
begin to tackle it in earnest. USAID-funded bicommunal (the
mine straddles the green line) assessments of site and soil
conditions provide some basis for future remediation of the
site, but work will be expensive and complicated by a host of
legal and jurisdictional issues. (NOTE: the Lefke copper
mine, which belonged to the U.S. Cyprus Mining Corporation,
was forcibly expropriated by the Turkish Military in 1974,
and subsequently "leased" to European mining interests, which
conducted activities virtually without oversight or
regulation. END NOTE.)

But The Guy's Got Heart
--------------


7. (C) Despite these daunting tasks, Vehbi may have some wind
at his back as he seeks to tackle these problems. First and
foremost, Vehbi is enthusiastic about his job and appears to
be honest, or at least enthusiastic. Corruption,
rent-seeking, and patronage are SOP in the Turkish Cypriot
community -- but because he has no history in politics and
his new OP party has only just been founded, Vehbi does not
(yet) appear to owe any favors to anyone. He and his party
serve in "government" at the pleasure of the ruling CTP. But
perhaps because Vehbi claims to harbor no personal political
ambition (indeed, earlier this year, he applied for an open
FSN position at the Embassy),he has been able to take some
brave moves. In a recent meeting, "PM" Soyer's private
secretary Erkut Sahali told us of his shock -- and admiration

SIPDIS
-- at Vehbi's decision to block a CTP-backed proposal in the
"Council of Ministers" to expropriate land for the
construction of a bypass road. Sahali freely admitted that
Vehbi's move, apparently based solely on environmental
concerns, was unprecedented in a system where the overriding
goal is usually rewarding investors who support the ruling
party. A leading Turkish Cypriot businessman for whom Vehbi
previously worked described him as very passionate and
capable, willing to stand up to the status quo.


8. (SBU) Furthermore, Vehbi may be helped by the public
perception that overdevelopment, combined with corruption and
nepotism, has gone too far. Civil society NGOs, so long
focused mainly on politics and the Cyprus problem, have begun
to ask hard questions about the environmental sustainability
of Turkish Cypriot economic growth. Growing numbers of
businessmen have begun to wonder whether ecotourism (taking
advantage of the "TRNC's" remarkable beaches and mountains,
its agricultural traditions, and historical sites) might
offer better long-term opportunities than the usual model of
large-scale hotel/villa construction. Vehbi has said he
would support the development of ecotourism, and indeed his
"ministry" has applied to send experts on short-term training
programs to study the subject in the U.S.


9. (SBU) Training such as this, as well as in-country

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assistance programs sponsored by USAID and the European Union
may also make it easier for the new "ministry" to make
headway on environmental protection. CyPEG is devoting
significant resources to sustainable tourism and resource
efficiency in the Turkish Cypriot community, and the European
Commission is planning ecologically-focused assessment
projects at the former CMC site in Lefke and the Dikmen
rubbish dump, an environmental disaster-area near north
Nicosia.

COMMENT: Striking the Balance
--------------


10. (C) Continued international support and encouragement
will be needed if the cash-strapped Turkish Cypriots are to
make real progress in protecting the north's environment -- a
goal that, nominally at least, is shared by the Greek
Cypriots as well. The real key, however, will be for the
Turkish Cypriots themselves to capitalize on a growing sense
that their environment is an asset to be protected, and that
ecotourism is a potential profit center. Vehbi's biggest
challenge will be to balance calls for stricter environmental
protection with the desire to promote short-term economic
growth. This will involve taking on bottom-line-minded
investors (both local and Turkish),and their political
supporters, who traditionally have given little thought to
environment as a money-maker.


11. (C) Politics may complicate this, however. Although
Vehbi himself has no political ambitions for the moment, the
new OP party to which he owes his job has begun trying to
attract supporters. The traditional Turkish Cypriot method
for building a constituency is to dole out favors in exchange
for loyalty/votes. OP,s desire to expand by favoritism may
not blend with Vehbi,s role of environmental watchdog,
especially if it means refusing contracts or development
permits applied for by potential donors and party supporters.
If the Turkish Cypriots can create a real and effective
environmental protection infrastructure, it could go a long
way in transforming their economy and convincing the outside
world they are worthy members of the European family. If
not, the "TRNC's" reputation as an unregulated, wild-west
regime will persist. END COMMENT.
SCHLICHER