Cyprus - Country Water ProfilesFramework Law
The main law applicable to water resources management, which covers all of the following areas: administration; management, conservation and use of freshwater resources; water rights; waterworks; water supply
Constitutional provisions
Date of text: 16 June 1960
Right to water: No provisions regarding the right to water.
Natural resources: Article 23 providing for property rights also underlines the right of property of the state over natural resources. ‘Every person, alone or jointly with others, has the right to acquire own, possess, enjoy or dispose of any movable or immovable property and has the right to respect for such right. The right of the Republic to underground water, minerals and antiquities is reserved’.
Agriculture
Water used for irrigation, forestry and aquaculture
Date of original text: 15 September 1946 (2019)
Water Supply and Sanitation
Provision of water services by public utilities or commercial organizations; water supply for domestic, industrial or other purposes; right to safe and clean drinking water and basic sanitation; quality of piped water; sewerage
Governance
The political, social, economic and administrative systems that govern water management and conservation; good practices; good governance; decentralization; water user’s associations
Infrastructure
Waterworks; water supply systems; dams; hydropower systems; irrigation systems
Water Resources Management and Water Rights
Ownership and control of water resources; abstraction and diversion of water; allocation and quotas; riparian rights; priority of rights; free water use
Water and Environment
Water in environmentally-sensitive areas; ‘water demand’ by ecosystems; protection forests; water conservation zones; environmental impact assessment
Water Quality and Pollution Control
Control of pollution and quality of freshwater bodies and groundwater; agricultural point and non-point sources of pollution; water quality standards
Date of text: 13 November 2015
Groundwater
Freshwater resources located below the surface of the earth; aquifers; groundwater abstraction; well-sinking; boreholes; hydrogeology
Disaster Resilience
Water-related hazards; flood; drought; water shortage; adaptation to climate change; early warning system/emergency intervention system
Transboundary Waters
Transboundary effects; international basin institutions; international agreements; transboundary coordination; transboundary aquifers
Date of original text: 17 May 1980 (1996)
Policies
Date of text: 16 June 2019