Tag: Cyprus

The Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) of Cyprus hosted a High Level event on European Union (EU) SAIs Independence in Pafos on October 15th 2024, with keynote speakers from the European Commission, the INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI), the Support for Improvement in Governance and Management (SIGMA)/ Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the House of Representatives of the Republic of Cyprus.  The event was attended by 21 SAIs of the European Union and 5 SAIs of Candidate and potential Candidate countries.   The purpose of the event was for SAIs to reaffirm their commitment to safeguard their independence, address challenges that could pose a threat to it and discuss possible solutions.  

Cyprus has been facing water scarcity for years. The lack of natural surface water systems, such as lakes and rivers, has historically led to excessive exploitation of groundwater. Over-extraction from underground water bodies, in combination with reduced rainfall, as a result of climate change, have led to the current situation, where most of Cyprus’ aquifers are in poor condition. To address the need for sufficient water reserves, in the past, the government has constructed dams to collect rainwater that would otherwise flow into the sea and has developed infrastructure to transfer water to areas with less rainfall, with the Southern Conveyor Project being the most significant. However, the reduction in rainfall mentioned above impacts adversely on the quality of water collected in the dams.