03 Sep 2007 - The forest
fires ravaging Greece in recent weeks have
been unprecedented. More than 60 people
have lost their lives, thousands left homeless,
and over 250,000 hectares of forests and
agricultural land (mainly olive groves and
vineyards) have burned. The fires are still
burning and many have yet to be put under
control.
The burned area represents almost 2% of
the surface area of the country.
Many biodiversity hotspots have been badly
hit. We still have scattered information
because of the fires still burning, but
we hope to be able to get a team of experts
out to the burned sites in the next couple
of days to assess the situation in more
detail.
Some initial information on some of the
sites:
Mt. Taygetos: A rich forest (Natura 2000
site) composed largely of pine and an endemic
fir species (Abies), a home to more than
160 endemic taxa of plants. The mountain
gorges are important for bird species such
as the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)
and lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni). The
area is also known to host a small population
of golden jackal (Canis aureus).
Mt. Parnonas: Parnonas, a Natura 2000 site
consisting largely of conifer and pine forests,
is the only European site with Syrian juniper
(Juniperus drupacea). Diverse fauna with
golden jackal populations, endemic snake
and turtle species are also found here.
Parnitha National Park: The fire has destroyed
two-thirds of this protected area (also
a Natura 2000 site) that hosts over 800
plant species and the largest population
of red deer in Greece. WWF-Greece had already
been running a project on this site over
the last 3 years.
In addition, other biodiversity hot-spots
around the country have been hit by the
fires, such as Mt. Pelion, Prespa and the
Grammos mountain range.
The cause for these fires is at least in
part linked to arson.
We have bitter experience of burned sites
being handed over to real estate development.
Greece remains the only country in the European
Union without a national forest registry,
without a national spatial plan and with
an amazing law dating back 30 years that
basically allows a land owner to build anywhere,
provided they have at least 0.4 hectares
of land!
The crisis is developing into a very sensitive
political issue, with national elections
2 weeks away and the government being heavily
criticized for the handling of the crisis.
In the days and months to come, WWF-Greece
will be focusing its efforts on the following.
