Filenews 18 August 2023
The gradual abandonment of the countryside for about 50 years is considered by the Department of Forests one of the main threats to the forests of Cyprus, since it has been established that the land left uncultivated initially fills grass and over time with more permanent plants that act as fuel that fuels the fires. when they break out.
In fact, the spread of plants without being interrupted either by crops or because there is no cleaning, acts as a conduit for the transfer of fire from rural areas to forests.
The Department of Forests has been fighting for years to secure approval for intervention in private properties (in order to clear vegetation), something that is prohibited since private property is placed, by law, above the protection of forests, citizens and by extension society as a whole.
In the past, the Department tried to obtain an amendment to the legislation, which met with opposition and now a new attempt is being made to adopt legislation which, among other things, will give the director of the Department of Forests the right to intervene in private properties but also to create firebreaks, where he considers that their absence is a danger to forests. And, of course, in the case of using private land to create firebreaks, the owners will be compensated.
Moreover, the clearing of land is the responsibility of each owner andhe must, as in cities, take care of the cleaning of his property, but since in this case it is the forest that is threatened, the clearing of vegetation will be free of charge.
Another aspect that has concerned and concerns the competent authorities is the extension of the responsibility of the Department of Forests outside the state forest to cover the radius of two kilometers currently covered by the Fire Service. For this purpose, an expert from abroad will be invited to study the conditions for the transfer of competences.
The director of the Department of Forests, Charalambos Alexandrou, asked about this by "F", said that if we treat forests as a national wealth and as a factor for the protection of the environment and the place in general, then we conclude that the amendment of the legislation for better forest management is necessary. In the context of this reform, according to Mr. Alexandrou, it is considered that the reasonable intervention of the Department even in private plots is imperative. As he said, a relevant bill is before the Legal Service, which has already processed it legally. "I expect it to be submitted to Parliament soon," Alexandrou said.
Asked about the additional responsibilities acquired by the director of the Department of Forests with the promoted bill, in relation to private plots, Mr. Alexandrou said that a series of actions are given the opportunity to do so, including the cleaning of grass and vegetation in general, the cultivation of plots (essentially the use of an agricultural tractor for plowing it), the pruning of trees (where required) as well as other related actions aimed at depriving the fire generally from the continuous vegetation which helps it to spread unhindered and reach the forests even when it erupts outside their boundaries.
By clearing vegetation we will deprive the fire of the fuel it needs to continue its destructive work, said the director of the Department of Forests. We see it in fires, which also applies to fires, that when a fire breaks out, it is not easily stopped, and this is attributed to the vegetation that prevails in the countryside.
As he explained, the phenomenon of increased vegetation began to be observed gradually about 50 years ago and over time the situation worsened to reach its peak in recent years.
Mr. Alexandrou, commenting on the possible reactions of owners, asked for everyone's understanding in order to serve the common good. Suffice it to say that in France, the right we ask to act on private properties to clean them up and essentially protect their own property, has the neighbor of each one to protect his own property from the grass that threatens him, he added.
They don't even let them clean greens
The existing legislation ties the hands of the Department of Forests in the sense that the consent of each owner is required to be able to intervene even for the cleaning of grasses. According to Mr. Alexandrou, some cannot objectively give their consent either because they died, or because they are absent abroad and are not located, or because the affected land belongs to 40-50 heirs, etc. Of course, there are those who do not approve of the intervention of the Department of Forests for their own reasons.
To the question "why communities do not clean the grass themselves", the answer we received from various stakeholders is that they use their scarce resources to clean plots that are mainly located in their cores or in residential areas, rather than spending them on cleaning the perimeter of villages.
This, of course, may create a better picture within communities, but the danger usually comes from outside and where the fire entered residential areas, damage was caused. Community leaders believe that the state should provide financial assistance, especially to poorer communities, to clear the countryside of threatening vegetation.
As for the creation of firebreaks, here the reactions are greater given that land is used to create them which some owners feel they lack. And this issue is expected to be regulated through the bill under promotion, unless such pressure is exerted on MPs and this regulation ultimately fails, as has happened in the past.
If we add to the above the scarcity of the Department of Forests and the closure of the forestry college, which is also attributed to private interests, then it is understood that it is no coincidence that fires are increasingly difficult to deal with.
