Regenerative Land Use

Unsustainable land take and land use with extensive urban development, massive ground sealing and constant expansion of road networks are taking place at the expense of pastoral and agricultural land while creating city centres that are highly vulnerable to climate change.

Excessive urban development without proper sustainability design has been generating massive ground sealing, causing urban green spaces to constantly shrink, elevating flooding risk for Cyprus’ city centres and leading to an accentuated heat island effect.

Degenerative farming practices are also part of the island’s agricultural production, with Cyprus featuring the highest increase in pesticide sales between the years 2011 and 2019 among 18 others EU Member States and with total organically cultivated land area being 3 percent lower than the average EU percentage.

The Cyprus Environment Foundation will support any projects that aim to promote awareness and application of regenerative farming practices such as agroecology, agroforestry, permaculture, holistic management and conservation agriculture, as well as promote sustainable urban design and development such as rainwater harvesting, communal vegetable gardens, resilient urban green areas, green mobility tools and others.