It is with great pleasure that I address today's exercise to extinguish a large forest fire under the name "HFAISTOS 2022", which is taking place in the framework of the Forest Protection Week. The Forest Protection Week is organized every year at this time by the Forestry Department to educate and raise public awareness about the importance of forests and the need to effectively protect them from fires. Investing in the cultivation of forest and environmental awareness among citizens and especially among our young people is a primary objective for the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment.
Forests, with their multifunctional role, are of enormous value for our country, as they are the backbone of the natural environment, enhance the economic, environmental, social and cultural development of the country and contribute to the creation of better living conditions. Their protection from fires is a matter of essential importance and requires the contribution of all of us. For its part, the Government is ensuring that all necessary fire protection measures are taken and is strengthening the competent services in terms of manpower, equipment and infrastructure, with the aim of preventing forest fires and reducing the damage caused by the firestorm. Very recently, the process of filling 22 posts of Forestry Officer has been completed and the process of filling another 28 similar posts is expected to be completed within the year. At the same time, a political decision has been taken to further strengthen the Forest Department by creating 27 new Forest Officer posts. In addition, the recruitment process for 111 new forest firefighters has been completed, bringing the total number of Forest Fire Brigade members to 575. In addition to the reinforcement in human resources, the Forestry Department has initiated the reinforcement of both aerial and ground firefighting resources, since, by 2024, the acquisition on lease of two additional firefighting aircraft and the purchase of new firefighting vehicles is expected. The importance that the Government attaches to the protection of forests from fires is also highlighted by the inclusion in the Recovery and Resilience Plan and the Cyprus Tomorrow Programme of a special plan for forest firefighting, with a budget of EUR 18 million. Of course, despite the above, we are by no means complacent. We know that for such a complex issue as the management of forest fires, new planning and implementation of new measures are constantly required. With regard to the chapter on the adequacy of our country's air assets, and despite the difficulties that have arisen due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, I want to assure you that the Ministry is taking all necessary steps to ensure the necessary additional air firefighting assets. In a very short period of time, the Republic will have at its disposal the required number of primary air assets, in accordance with the plans that have been made.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dealing with the problem of forest fires requires very good preparation, increased operational readiness and constant cooperation from all parties involved. The exercise "EFAISTOS 2022", which is taking place today under the coordination of the Forestry Department, provides an opportunity to verify the operational readiness of all involved departments and agencies that take part in actual forest fire incidents. The exercise will involve all the fire-fighting aircraft available in the Republic, since the scenario includes the activation of the "IKAROS 2" project, as well as two aircraft from Israel. I express our sincere thanks to the Government of Israel for its assistance in the exercise and its willingness to respond to any request from the Republic of Cyprus for assistance in the event of a major fire.
At this point, allow me to express my recognition and appreciation for the important work carried out by the Department of Forests and at the same time to congratulate the management and all the staff of the Department for their superhuman efforts to deal with the firestorm whenever the need arises. I want to assure you that both I personally and the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment and the Government will always stand by the Forestry Department and support every effort to protect our forest wealth.
I would also like to welcome the presence of representatives of all the departments and agencies involved in fire protection and invite them, once again, to renew our commitment to preparedness, coordination and efficiency in the difficult task that awaits us this summer. Let us all work hard and tirelessly together, addressing every fire incident with responsibility and professionalism.
At this point, I would like to address, in English, our distinguished colleagues and guests from the United Nations and the British Bases.
Honourable guests from the United Nations and the British Sovereign Base Areas, I would like to thank you for attending our event and to express my deepest gratitude for your valuable and continuous cooperation and support, every fire season.
I welcome the presence of observers from Jordan, whom I welcome to Cyprus. Their presence in today's exercise is a practical demonstration of the will for further cooperation between our states, with the aim of managing forest fires and establishing an airborne firefighting base for the Eastern Mediterranean in Cyprus.
Dear honorable friends from Jordan. I welcome you to Cyprus and wish you a pleasant stay. Your presence in today's firefighting exercise, proves the willingness of our countries for effective cooperation in fire management and for creating an East Mediterranean firefighting hub in Cyprus. Thank you for being with us today and looking forward for the implementation of our common objectives.
I would also like to welcome the presence of the Ambassador of Jordan to Cyprus and the representative of the Ambassador of Greece at today's event and thank them for the long-standing good cooperation between our countries in various fields, including forest firefighting.
In conclusion, I would like to wish good luck to all participants in today's exercise and invite once again all the state agencies, local authorities and voluntary organisations involved in fire protection, the mass media and all aware citizens of our country, to further strengthen our close and continuous cooperation in order to effectively tackle the problem of forest fires and protect our priceless natural wealth. In particular, I appeal to all our fellow citizens to demonstrate a high level of individual responsibility so that we do not relive the tragic moments we experienced last year. Let us therefore put into practice the motto of this year's Forest Protection Week campaign, "Let it never happen again."
Thank you.
_____________
Note: The address was read on behalf of the Minister by the Director General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment, Mr. Andreas Gregoriou.
(NΓ/ΣΧ)
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs to PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
Source
