Contentious forest maps to start going online
The Environment Ministry’s updated maps of Greece’s designated forestland are due to start going online Friday, even though two challenges against the new delineations are pending at the Council of State, the country’s highest administrative court.
The ministry plans to publish the maps in seven weekly batches through end-February, closing a contentious procedure that began last July to review every current map designating forests and sensitive land that is protected from construction and other destructive forms of human activity.
The move is part of ongoing efforts to draw up a new cadaster, a process that has been beset by delays and landed Greece in hot water with the European Commission.
It is also expected to reveal which parts of the country have been delisted by the Environment Ministry, including large swaths of forestland that have already been stripped or built upon – also the subject of the CoS suits.
