ENN Twitter
<!–
–>
In crisis-hit Greece, government decisions taken in haste
and despair to save the country from default, risk having a serious impact on
the environment. A new bill seeks to relax restrictions on construction of
public and private forestland even for those areas, which are considered
protected.
ADVERTISEMENT
<!–/* * Replace all instances of INSERT_RANDOM_NUMBER_HERE with
* a generated random number (or timestamp).
*
* The backup image section of this tag has been generated for use on a
* non-SSL page. If this tag is to be placed on an SSL page, change the
* 'http://ad10.walklightmedia.net/delivery/…'
* to
* 'https://ad10.walklightmedia.net/delivery/…'
*
* This noscript section of this tag only shows image banners. There
* is no width or height in these banners, so if you want these tags to
* allocate space for the ad before it shows, you will need to add this
* information to the tag.
*
* If you do not want to deal with the intricities of the noscript
* section, delete the tag (from … to ). On
* average, the noscript tag is called from less than 1% of internet
* users.
*/–>
… to
A joint statement by the country’s biggest environmental
organizations said that the legislation would be destructive for the
environment and harmful to the economy and development of the country. The
statement was signed by 10 organizations, including WWF, Greenpeace, MOm and
the Society for the Environment and Cultural Heritage. Under the would-be legislation, which was made available to the
public for ten days, hotels would be able to expand into wooded areas while new
tourism developments such as golf courses and spas could also be constructed on
forestland. WWF says that the bill seeks to scrap protection of environmentally
important areas covered by sparse and low vegetation. WWF Head in Greece, Dimitris Karavelas, has said that the
biggest problem of this law is that it suggests the declassification from a
protected status of about 15 percent of Greek territory, mainly in the islands
and coastal areas. “The draft law opens up areas that used to be protected to
various forms of development and it legalizes a number of developments in the
past where financial penalties were pending,” said Karavelas.
Environmental encroachments in Greece are not new
When the 2009 fires were raging in eastern Attika, they
broke out in a forested suburban region known for its illegal ribbon
development, where thousands of illegal homes have been legalized ahead of
successive elections by incumbent governments. This area is also expected to
undergo further development with a population increase as a result of new urban
plans.
In 2011 the government at the time asked Greeks to pay
penalties to the state for building homes without permits in return for which
they were allowed to save them from demolition. The Environment Ministry
assured the Greek public at the time that this was part of the process to put
the properties “in order.” It said that they would be included in a new
framework being developed for illegal properties.
More than 500,000 properties have either gone through these
schemes or are in the process of doing so. This has raised almost 800 million
Euros (1.08 billion dollars) for the government by the end of February 2012.
About 530 million Euros (722 million dollars) came from penalties and the rest
from processing fees that applicants had to pay. It also meant a considerable
source of income for the debt-stricken state.
Read more from ENN affiliate: Worldwatch
Institute.
Lupines
on Mount Olympus image via Shutterstock.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy
2013©. Copyright Environmental News Network