Filenews 10 October 2021 - by Angelos Nikolaou
The devastating fires of July 3rd in the mountainous areas of Larnaka and Limassol, apart from the enormous ecological damage they caused and led to the death of four people, left behind serious wounds: On families left without a home, communities affected, professional and amateur farmers, stockbreeders and other professionals who are active and give life to the countryside.
The Government, the co-competent Ministries and all the services involved, were very active from the first moment to provide every possible assistance and support to the fire victims of the mountainous areas of the districts of Larnaca and Limassol. The decision of the Council of Ministers for the multifaceted support of the fire victims was taken just three days after the devastating fires, after a comprehensive and coordinated planning. The decision was followed by successive meetings, meetings and on-the-spot visits, in order to implement as effectively as possible the measures, projects and actions planned. Already, several actions have been implemented, while the rest are expected to be implemented very soon.
In this phase, emphasis is placed on anti-corrosion and flood protection works to protect the affected areas from flooding and landslides.
As far as houses, premises and (exceptionally) greenhouses are concerned, teams of the district administrations of Larnaca and Limassol and the Department of Agriculture, proceeded, from the very next day, to the recording and assessment of the damages in the affected areas. With the decision of the Council of Ministers that followed, all those affected were immediately invited to apply for compensation and then to come to the provincial administrations to sign the declarations of acceptance of the compensation that was theirs on the basis of the estimates.
LARNACA- 131 applications were received by the Larnaca District Administration. By the end of September, the lump sum or the amount of full compensation has been paid to 84 beneficiaries, who came and signed the solemn declaration, with the total amount of financial assistance so far amounting to approximately €500,000. Compensation for 4 beneficiaries is pending, which will be done in the next few days. 8 applications were rejected, while 30 applications are in the process of being evaluated.
LIMASSOL- 63 applications have been received by the Limassol District Administration and so far the payment of the lump sum or the amount of full compensation to 46 beneficiaries (73% of all beneficiaries) who came forward and signed the solemn declaration has been completed. The total amount of this financial assistance to the Limassol district, so far, amounts to approximately €300,000. The completion, within the next few days, of the examination of 9 applications is pending, while based on the criteria 8 applications have been rejected and are in the process of appeals.
After on-the-spot visits by officials of the Department of Agriculture, the damages to crops and agricultural / livestock premises were recorded and a first aid was granted, immediately, to all the affected professional farmers, for livelihood reasons and for the continuation of their professional activity. The aid was paid in the form of de minimis aid and reached up to €20,000 per beneficiary. In the above context, more than 90 professional farmers benefited and were paid, in total, more than €1,500,000.
Support for employers and employees
The Ministry of Labour has covered the contributions to the Social Insurance Fund and other related living and housing expenses of employees to affected employers, for the months of July, August and September 2021. During the same period, for the affected employers, the corresponding contributions to the Social Insurance Fund and other contributions were covered by the Republic.
Anti-flood – anti-erosion works
The works for the clogging of bridges and the restoration of the water supply, irrigation and sewerage networks of the area have been completed, as well as the cleaning works at the contributions of the road network with water streams, in cooperation with the Department of Water Development (WDD) with the Local Authorities and the District Administrations.
Submission of a request to the EU Solidarity Fund
A request has been submitted to the European Union Solidarity Fund, which includes the damage and the cost of repairing the fire-stricken areas. The Fund, if it approves the request, will cover part of the costs of rehabilitation, as well as prevention in public infrastructure, which has been affected by the fire. The request is examined and with its approval, 18 months are given for the implementation of the projects. A similar request had been submitted after the fire in Solea, with the Solidarity Fund paying an amount of €7,000,000.
What is currently being implemented
A team of the Department of Agriculture is currently in the fire-stricken areas, in order to support and guide the fire-stricken farmers for the submission of applications for participation in the aid/compensation measures mentioned below. For the preparation of these measures, the staff of the YYPAAP and its Departments worked very intensively, depending on the findings on the spot, while the approval of the competent institutions of the Republic of Cyprus and the European Union was also required:
A) Special emergency plan to cover exclusively the affected professional farmers and livestock breeders. The Plan was approved by the Commissioner for The Control of State Aid and provide for compensation payment at a rate of up to 80%, for those who wish to reactivate and proceed to rehabilitation actions, as well as compensation payment at a rate of up to 30%, for those who will not be reactivated. The affected people are expected to declare, by 15/10/2021, whether they are interested in reactivating themselves. 30% of the aid will be paid directly to all, while the remaining 50% for those who are reactivated will be paid after the presentation of the relevant supporting documents. The exact calculation of the allocation to be used, which is expected to be in the order of a few million euros, will be made after the submission of applications.
B) For non-professional farmers, there is the possibility of reactivation based on the "National Framework of State Aid for the reactivation of affected farmers and for the restoration of the environment in areas declared as affected by fires". The Framework will potentially allow all eligible agricultural and livestock farms whose managers are not professionals to participate. Beneficiaries whose damage is eligible under the Framework will receive aid for loss of income, as well as aid for rehabilitation/replacement of eligible agricultural means of production, provided that there is a reactivation. The submission of applications is valid until 15/10/2021 and the total cost, again of the order of a few million euros, will be calculated depending on the number and type of applicants.
C) Extraordinary announcement of Measure 5.2 of the Rural Development Programme "Support of Investments for the restoration of agricultural potential", which does not cover loss of income. Through participation in the Measure, there will be the possibility for actions such as the replacement of improved irrigation systems, machinery of equal or lesser capacity, etc. The aid is expected to amount to 100% of the estimated damage. In cases where the total amount of eligible costs exceeds the amount of the estimated damage, for the additional amount, the aid rate will be 50%. The maximum total amount of aid is set at €200,000. The call for applications will take place in early November and the payments, with a total budget of more than €2 million, will be made immediately afterwards.
D) Extraordinary announcement of investment measure 4.1 of the DPDP 2014-2020. With the forthcoming announcement of Measure 4.1, in case the provisions of the notice are met, beneficiaries may apply for the implementation of actions related to the modernization of the existing agricultural holding and/or a change of agricultural direction, for example from tree crops to greenhouses. In such cases, increased points will be provided. The call for applications will take place in early November and the payment of the grants, with a total budget of more than €30 million for the whole of Cyprus, will be made as soon as possible.
Firebreaks – forest roads and observatories
For the prevention of fires, a number of projects are promoted:
1) Creation, depending on the needs that will arise from the observation on the spot, of new firebreaks, new forest roads and new observatories in the area.
2) Maintenance of existing firebreaks and forest roads.
3) Implementation of a "Vegetation Management Study" aiming at the fire protection of forests and forest communities". The further protection of the communities of the area from forest fires will be achieved through the creation of a protection ring, around each community. The implementation of the measures included in the study will be undertaken by the Department of Forests for the areas within state forests and by the relevant District Administration, in cooperation with the Local Authorities, for the areas outside the state forests.
Nature restoration measures
As far as the post-fire management of the burnt wild vegetation in the wider fire-stricken area is concerned, it is expected that its restoration will be achieved through the mechanisms of natural regeneration, without any artificial interventions. It has been estimated that natural regeneration is possible in this burnt area and that it is the most environmentally friendly method.
Along the main roads connecting fire-stricken communities, as well as in parks and foresters of the communities, the Department of Forests will proceed with the new planting season starting in November 2021, to the planting of approximately 25,000 saplings, following a relevant study.
Flood protection and anti-corrosion works
The YGAAP has set as a priority the reduction of possible induced risks that may occur immediately after a fire, such as flood risk, the risk of severe erosion and the risk of landslides. For the purposes of assessing the situation and immediate preparation, the following measures have been taken:
1) The DAU, the Department of Forests and the Geological Survey Department have made numerous on-site visits to record the problems and submit suggestions. Furthermore, on July 21, 2021, a tour of the fire-stricken areas was conducted by the competent Departments of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the District Administrations of Larnaca and Limassol, the Commissioner for the Environment and the Professor of Dynamic Tectonic Applied Geology and Natural Disaster Management of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Dr. Efthimios Lekkas. The recommendations of the competent Departments were submitted to the scientific team of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, for examination and confirmation. The scientific team submitted its recommendations around mid-August and immediately afterwards their implementation began.
2) To avoid flooding and corrosive phenomena, it was decided to construct embankments with gabions. These are mildly intervention projects, which consist of gabions filled with convoys of specific characteristics, are compatible materials with the wider environment, help to limit the flow and speed of water and promote the retention of sediments.
3) The WDD assessed the pre-selection positions on the spot and decided to proceed, as a first priority, with the construction of embankments with gabions within the water streambed, at 10 points for the Limassol district and 16 points for the Larnaca district, following all the appropriate procedures provided by the legislation to expedite the procedures, due to urgent need. The WDDD has already proceeded with the procedures for the purchase of all gabions available in Cyprus from suppliers, while the availability of suitable gabions filling material from various quarries has been investigated. During the recent visit of the head of the aforementioned scientific team, Dr. Efthymios Lekkas, on October 7th to the area, in addition to the inspection of the works, other, alternative ways of constructing embankments were examined and specific decisions were taken.
4) As far as the priority projects of the Limassol district are concerned, the topographic mapping has been completed and the tenders have been awarded. Construction work began on September 17, 2021 and is expected to be completed in October 2021.
5) Regarding the priority projects of the Larnaca district, the topographical works and the tender documents have been completed. Two contracts have already been signed with a starting date of September 27, 2021. The duration of execution of construction works is estimated at 5 to 6 weeks.
The DDY will monitor the projects and if necessary, corrective or additional measures will be taken.
Anti-development works
Regarding the treatment of the landslide risk, the Geological Survey Department completed an on-site evaluation and proposed specific interventions in 7 areas of the road network, with a total length of 4,400 meters. The implementation has been undertaken by the District Administrations of Limassol and Larnaca, as well as by the Department of Public Works, depending on which Competent Authority falls under the jurisdiction of the road network.
In relation to the works under the supervision of the Department of Public Works, a relevant tender has been awarded for the works on a section of the road network to Odos and according to the tender, the works must be completed within the next two months.
In relation to the projects under the supervision of the Larnaca District Administration, a relevant tender has been announced concerning the projects in five fire-stricken communities, with a deadline of September 24, 2021. It is noted that, in the tender, there is provision for the award of the tenders to a different contractor for each community, so that the works can be completed as soon as possible.
In relation to the Limassol projects, the relevant District Administration is currently in consultation with the Geological Survey Department to finalize the projects to be implemented.
