Statement by Christina Nicolaou, Head of the Environment Affairs Bureau of AKEL, on the need to reopen the Cyprus Forestry College

 

24 August 2021, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia

The statements made by the former Director General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment confirm everything we as AKEL have been stating and urgently demanding for the last eight years.

In 2013 when the Anastasiades-DISY party Government terminated the operation of the Forest College and in 2015 the admission of new students was stopped, AKEL had warned of the consequences of this decision.

The austerity policies imposed by the government in the field of nature are proving disastrous especially after the two major fires our country has suffered in 2016 and last July.

The reopening of the Cyprus Forestry College must be a priority. The Government must find ways to upgrade the Forestry College on the basis of an overall scheme in line with the needs of today and the future.

The Forestry College had an important advisory role on matters relating to the handling and protection of our country’s forests and biodiversity and at the same time had trained really competent forest firefighters.

Climate change is now all too visible in our country as well. Long periods of drought and desertification are the main factors in the increase in forest fires. That is precisely why our focus must be to prevent and confront such disasters. The Forestry College can make a major contribution in this direction, which is why AKEL supports its reopening.