Greece Adopts Forest Protection Law After Fires

摘要

Greece's Parliament Jan. 26 approved a forest protection law suspending construction in areas around Athens and another 18 municipalities and communities affected by recent fires to allow reforestation to take place. The "Bill on Attica Forests," named after a region affected by fires in the summer of 2009, received 271 votes in Greece's 300-seat parliament. The new law will take effect upon publication in the National Gazette, probably by mid-February, Ministry of Environment, Energy, and Climate Change press officials said. Under the law, construction licenses will be granted only for repairs to homes and public buildings destroyed by the blazes. The law also reduces to 15 percent the amount of forest cover needed for a plot to be classified as forestland and protected. The law was prompted in part by fears that developers would move in on burned areas. A state agency overseen by the ministry's environmental inspectors will ensure the demolition of homes illegally built on burned forestland and implementation of stiff fines.