The Forestry Department is understaffed

Statement by Yiannakis Gavriel, AKEL MP and Chairman of the Parliamentary Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee

8 February 2022

To understand the extent of the Forestry Department’s understaffing, it’s enough to state that in relation to the number of posts, the Department is in a worse position than in 2019. At the same time, it has been assigned many new responsibilities and duties.

The Department itself has been sounding the alarm for years that with its current structure and staffing, it itself declares that it is unable to respond to the ever-increasing risk of fires.

Suffice to note that 2021 was the worst year on record with 245 fires breaking out, while the average number is 145 fires per year.

We also expressed our concern about reports that the Cyprus Sports Organisation has asked the Ministry of Agriculture to grant the Forest College for its own use. The Forest College is an institution that for decades has staffed the Forestry Department with qualified personnel and contributed greatly to protecting our forests. The closure of the Forestry College by the current government a few years ago was a crime. Our position is that the Forestry College must be reopened.

Bearing all this in mind, I would like to express my regret at the absence of any representative of the Ministry of Agriculture from today’s meeting. I would like to believe that the Ministry’s absence does not reflect its general approach on the issue.

The Parliamentary Agriculture Committee will send a letter to the Ministers of Agriculture and Finance to this effect, so that a new meeting can be convened very soon in their presence.

Protecting our forests is tantamount to safeguarding the future of our country. Cyprus cannot afford another disaster like that of Solea and last year’s disaster in the mountainous areas of Larnaca and Limassol.