Forests
Greece: In a last-minute amendment submitted in Parliament in the context of a draft law on the acceleration of the procedures of justice administration, the penalty for illegal logging was reduced from felony to misdemeanour status. The financial penalty remained low. In combination with the inability of the
seriously understaffed local authorities to patrol the forests, this development makes illegal logging an attractive operation of minimal personal risk.
As mentioned in CrisisWatch 2, the problem of illegal logging, even within protected areas, is growing out of control.
Source: Hellenic Union of Public Administration Foresters (in Greek)
Last modified onThursday, 04 May 2017 16:22