The Cyprus Foundation for Combating Erosion, Afforestation, and Protection of Natural Resources (KEMA) has raised concerns about the forests in the Kyrenia Beşparmak Mountains, which were reforested after a major fire in 1995, Yeniduzen reports.
KEMA claims these forests have been neglected due to deficiencies in the Forestry Department, leaving them at high risk of another major fire.
The Foundation stated that the area is not adequately prepared to prevent fires and criticised the Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources for ignoring the issue. Trustee Board Chairman İlkay İlseven urged the Minister to act immediately by employing nine authorised workers and assigning them to Kyrenia’s firefighting team and two under-staffed watchtowers.
İlseven accused the minister of indifference towards the issue of forest fires, similar to his attitude towards the pine processionary moth issue. Despite a recent promise to allocate a budget for aerial firefighting, no action has been taken.
He stressed the importance of taking effective measures to keep fires contained. Referring to the 1995 Beşparmak fire that damaged over 160 square kilometres of forest and olive groves, İlseven noted that swift action then led to reforestation within eight months.
However, he pointed out that many current fire protection and firefighting measures are lacking. The Minister claims all necessary measures have been taken, but İlseven argued that this is untrue and misleading.
Specific issues include:
The required employment of 125 authorised seasonal workers, with only nine positions filled.
Shortages in fire watchmen, leading to unstaffed watchtowers on rotation days.
Inequitable distribution of intervention teams, with Kyrenia’s team being significantly understaffed.
Unmaintained fire safety roads and firebreaks in the Kyrenia region.
Lack of drivers for fire trucks, rendering them unusable outside working hours.
KEMA warned that these deficiencies make it impossible to respond effectively to potential fires and called for immediate action from the Minister.
