The construction of a new port in the Limassol district village of Pentakomo would have “immediate and irreversible environmental impacts”, ornithological charity BirdLife Cyprus’ campaign coordinator Tasos Shialis said on Monday.

He spoke to business news website Stockwatch ahead of the next court hearing of the charity’s legal challenge against its construction, which is due to take place on Tuesday.

“We will continue the legal battle because we believe that the project will have immediate and irreversible environmental impacts, while endangering the safety of the Mediterranean monk seal and the protection of its habitat,” he said.

A court had in April issued an interim order to suspend construction work at the port over fears regarding the Mediterranean monk seal population, with the ruling suspending a decision made by the urban planning department in February giving the go-ahead for the beginning of construction in the area.

However, ahead of Tuesday’s hearing, Stockwatch reported that eight aquaculture companies – companies engaged in the industry surrounding fish farming – would be willing to testify before the court as interested parties on the side of the construction company.

This is because the port will primarily serve maritime traffic related to fish farms off the coasts of the nearby villages of Moni and Pentakomo.

Shialis said that should the environmentalists win the case, it could act as a precedent to ensure the proper assessment of similar projects in the future, “especially those which are subject to special ecological assessments”.

In April, BirdLife Cyprus had described the ruling as a “landmark moment for environmental justice in Cyprus”.

“It is the first time a project is halted solely on environmental grounds, and it is a major win for us and for everyone fighting to defend nature. This sets a legal precedent for the Cypriot justice system, strengthening the ability of citizens and organisations to seek legal protection for nature,” it said.

Looking ahead to the next court date, the charity said that “the legal battle is not over yet”, that it is “continuing the fight”, and thus made a call for financial donations to cover its legal expenses as it continues to fight to halt the port’s construction.

The charity described the Mediterranean monk seal as “one of the rarest marine mammals in the world” and had earlier said that there are as few as 20 of them left in Cyprus.

The agriculture ministry had last month confirmed that numbers had seen a slight uptick, but the ministry’s monk seal monitoring programme’s head Charalambos Nicolaou warned against complacency.

“We cannot afford to be complacent because the population is still small, and the threats are numerous. People must be very careful not to disturb the seals if they spot them,” Nicolaou said.

He also urged the public to not approach the animals or enter sea caves, given that they serve as shelters for the seals.