Work has begun in the foothills of the Kyrenia mountains to replant trees removed from 74 acres of land, after a building project was halted, Kibris Postasi reported.
Following the felling of numerous trees in order to build homes for retired army officers, there was a public outcry and legal action was taken by Greenpeace. This resulted in an interim order being granted to halt development of the land.
In a joint statement by the Biologists’ Association, Greenpeace and Doğapark, it was noted that as a result of the meetings with the Director of the Forestry Department, Cemil Karzaoğlu, work on the reforestation of the area within the framework of a project has begun. The first saplings will be planted from January, following the land adjustments and preparatory work to be carried out until the end of the year.
The following statements were used in the statement, which said:
“During the first months of next year, with the planned maintenance, repair and habitat restoration by planting saplings with the participation of the public, the area that will be named ‘Forest of Life’ will be restored to the public.
“The only obstacle facing the Forestry Department, which is ready to start working quickly so that the planting season is not missed, is that two gigantic cranes belonging to Kofalı İnşaat, which are no longer connected to the land, are still in the area. As Non-Governmental Organisations, we call on the relevant company to start planting saplings immediately and remind them that they should remove their cranes from the region as soon as possible.
“We are looking forward to planting saplings in the ‘Forest of Life’, which we believe will give Kyrenia a breath of fresh air and revive it. In this direction, we announce to all our people that we will continue to put forth every effort until the area in question is greened again”.