Joint position of the environmental organisations for the forest maps

The recent decision of the Minister of Environment and Energy, Mr. Kostis Hatzidakis, on the forest maps of the Greek State confirms the worst concerns of the environmental organisations about the ministry’s policy in relation to the protection of Greek nature.

Decision MinEnv/64663/2956/03.07.2020 (Government Gazette II 2773) comes as a result of the Law 4685/2020, which dismantled important protective provisions of the Biodiversity Law 3937/2011, weakened the environmental licensing process and dealt a major blow to the protection of forest land.

Especially with regard to forest maps, the decision of the Minister for the Environment and Energy retroactively removes the probative validity of all forest maps, both ratified and not.

The entire text of the eight organisations, in Greek, can be found here: https://www.eepf.gr/el/el-nea/topothetisi-dasikoi-xartes