The Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment of the Republic of Cyprus and the Ministry of Environment and Energy of the Hellenic Republic co-organised today, Thursday, 2 February 2023, a workshop on "Managing Mediterranean Forests under the Threat of Climate Change - Forest Fires".
The aim of the workshop, which was attended by renowned scientists and speakers from both countries, was to draw conclusions on how to improve the prevention and suppression of forest fires, as well as to strengthen cooperation between the two countries for the protection of Mediterranean Forests.
Mediterranean Forests have coexisted with fires for thousands of years and have developed survival mechanisms that make them resistant to them. Climate change is having a negative impact on these mechanisms and is increasingly causing large and uncontrolled fires, which have devastating and, in many cases, irreversible effects on forests.
During his address at the opening of the conference, the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Costas Kadis, expressed his satisfaction with the organisation of the conference, through the cooperation between the two Ministries, and reaffirmed his and the Ministry's constant support for this type of event. At the same time, he pointed out the need to further strengthen governments' policies to address the effects of climate change, with the increase in the number and intensity of forest fires being one of the most serious of these. Mr. Kadis referred in particular to the continuing deterioration of the effects of climate change in the Eastern Mediterranean region and the successful initiative of the President of the Republic to take regional action to address them. With regard to forest fires, the Minister stressed that the Government's efforts to prevent and combat them are persistent and continuous and noted the very positive results of the 2022 fire season, which were the best in the last twenty years.
For his part, the Deputy Minister of Environment and Energy of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. George Amyras, in his address, referred to the rehabilitation programmes of the burnt areas in Mati and the efforts to relieve the residents of the area, funded by the Government of the Republic of Cyprus with a total budget of 11 million euros. He pointed out that, from the term environmental climate change, today we are talking about a climate crisis and that the survival of the human species depends on the protection of the environment and forests. He stressed that in Greece, despite the fact that there was a 15-year record in the number of fires, more than 6,000, the total burnt area was limited due to the prevention projects implemented in recent years.
As regards the themes of the workshop, it included interventions for the prevention of forest fires, for the introduction of new technologies in their management and for the restoration of burnt forest ecosystems.
The workshop provided an opportunity for scientists from both countries to learn about best practices and the possibility of developing new partnerships to tackle these disasters.
(MB/SX)
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