WRITTEN QUESTION E-3865/00

by Mihail Papayannakis (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(8 December 2000)

Subject: Environmental rehabilitation of Mt Mainalo

Some four months have now elapsed since the catastrophic fires which ravaged Arcadia and in particular the fir forest of Mt Mainalo which is a geomorphological site unparalleled in Greece. Because of its special environmental significance, Mt Mainalo has been included in the Natura 2000 network, while 5 of the 33 species of amphibian found in the region are referred to in Community Directive 92/43/EEC(1) and are protected by Greek legislation and the Bern Convention; one of these species is found nowhere else in the Peloponnese.

Local citizens and social, environmental and political bodies are concerned that work to begin rehabilitating the destroyed forest and wooded areas has been delayed, and there are fears that, owing to the lack of anti-erosion measures, erosion particularly on sloping ground will frustrate efforts to rehabilitate the forest. Furthermore, I have received complaints that steps are being taken to tarmac forest tracks which will make it easier to drive to the most remote shelters in this wild region, thus leading to an upsurge in poaching and noise and atmospheric pollution and posing a risk of fire which will in turn nourish well-founded expectations that the land will be developed.

Will the Commission say what measures the Greek Government has taken to draw on Community funds to tackle the disasters which have struck Mt Mainalo?

Have the relevant Greek authorities submitted specific programmes with a detailed description of the reforestation, anti-erosion and flood prevention projects and actions planned for the region? If so, when? More generally as regards the regions included in Natura 2000, a Commission representative recently told the European Parliament's Committee on the Environment that, where no protection was provided for regions included in Natura 2000, structural fund aid would be suspended.

Do any management plans exist for the protected regions, and are there any management bodies to promote the implementation of such plans in Greece?

Are the nature conservation agencies in Greece adequately staffed or are there any weaknesses or shortcomings here?

(1) OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 7.

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(8 February 2001)

Mt Mainalo is included in the list of sites of Community importance proposed by Greece by virtue of Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992, on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora. In view of the future inclusion of the site in the Natura 2000 network, the national authorities have to ensure that its conservation value is preserved.

A LIFE-Nature project is currently underway, aiming at the conservation and management of that area. According to preliminary information provided by the beneficiary of the project (local development agency Arcadia SA), the Natura 2000 site has not been affected by the recent forest fires. Detailed information is expected soon, in the context of the contractual obligations of the beneficiary, which will enable the Commission to form a clear view of the situation.

A significant number of management plans have been made in Greece for proposed Natura 2000 sites through Community co-funded projects. However, the practical implementation of these management plans (requiring completion of the relevant legislative procedures and establishment of management bodies) has suffered until now from significant delays.

The final version of the Peloponnese-regional operational programme (ROP), to be approved early this year, includes preventive and protective measures for forests including for the areas covered by Natura 2000 as well as measures to restore forests damaged by fires. Details of the above will be developed by Greece in the programming complement which will be prepared after the Peloponnese-ROP has been approved.

The Commission cannot express an opinion on the staffing or functioning of national nature conservation authorities and agencies, since this is a Member State competence.