Greece’s National Reforestation Plan: The main axes and objectives of the framework

The main axes of the National Reforestation Plan were presented by officials of Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF)and the Ministry of Environment and Energy (YPEN), in a joint event held on Wednesday, April 26 at the Olympic Stadium, in the presence of the Deputy Minister of Environment and Energy, Giorgos Amyras, the Secretary General of Forests, Constantinos Aravosi and the Authorized Advisor and Head of the Strategic Importance Contracts Unit of the HRADF, Panagiotis Stampoulidis. The presentation of the program was made by the Head of the General Directorate of Forests and Forest Environment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vangelis Goudoufa, the Head of the Directorate of Forestry Projects and Infrastructure, Stavros Tsilikouna, and the Project Manager of the project from HRADF, Youli Vournas.

The purpose of the event was to inform the involved bodies about the implementation process of the flagship project of restoring 165,000 acres of degraded forest ecosystems in the country. The National Reforestation Plan, with a total budget of 194 million euros, has been included in the Recovery and Resilience Fund to be financed by the EU – NextGenerationEU and will contribute, among other things, to the response to the climate crisis, the protection of biodiversity and the achievement of national climate goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the European Green Deal.

The National Reforestation Plan foresees the preparation of reforestation studies in selected areas and their execution by the contractors to be selected, under the supervision of the local forestry services, with a budget of 185.2 million euros, as well as interventions of 4 million euros for the upgrading of public forest nurseries with the aim of producing the maximum number of seedlings.

The goals

The objectives of the project are summarized as follows:

· Strengthening the resilience of forests against natural disasters.

· Protection of biodiversity.

· Limiting the country’s carbon footprint and mitigating the effects of the climate crisis.

· Creating new jobs.

· Improvement of living conditions in urban and semi-urban areas.

· Embedding ecological culture and environmental awareness.

The tender

The Commissioning Authority of the project is the Ministry of Environment and Energy, the Heading Authority is the General Directorate of Forests and Forest Environment of the Ministry of the Environment, the role of the Managing Service is assumed by the Reforestation Directorates of Attica, Central Macedonia and Eastern Macedonia & Thrace, the Forest Departments or Forest Departments without Forest Departments (with the respective territorial authority), while the HRADF will have the role of the Authority Conducting the tender for the tender of the project, which is to take place within the next two months. The HRADF will conduct an open, above-limit tender, in sections (lots), each of which will cover areas throughout the Territory, from Evros to Crete.

The Deputy Minister of Environment and Energy, Giorgos Amyras, said: “For the first time, a National Reforestation Plan is being implemented in Greece. We will plant 20 million trees in 200 areas, some burned, others abandoned, with funding of 194 million euros from the Recovery Fund. We start from the coming planting season, in November, and the project will be completed by the end of 2025. With competitive procedures from HRADF for transparency and quick results. And, not only is reforestation taking place, but the method is also innovative. All the trees come from native varieties from the country’s public forest nurseries, while each seedling will be genetically controlled in order to strengthen our forest wealth with the most resistant trees.”

The Authorized Advisor and Head of the Strategic Importance Contracts Unit of HRADF, Panagiotis Stamboulidis, said: “The National Reforestation Plan is a particularly critical project for the protection of the natural environment of our country due to the effects of the climate crisis. In this national effort to protect biodiversity, HRADF will be a key ally of the State. In cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and Energy, the Fund’s Strategic Contracts Maturation Unit will work with consistency, speed and transparency in order to complete the relevant tenders smoothly and within the timetables.