“They broke mountains, the situation got out of control, they need much stricter control and better legal regulation.” President of the Union of Forest Cooperatives of Ioannina Thomas Tsoupinakis he is not shy about words, seeing a reality that harms both the forest and professional foresters. “There is a serious problem of poaching,” he emphasizes. High demand for firewood this year due to a significant increase in heating tariffs, as well as an increase in orders for construction wood, lit chainsaws in the mountains, but not always in the right direction. The inability of the Forest Service to control the situation due to understaffing and pathogens leaves open avenues for intruders.

“Big and heavy trucks full of firewood arrive from Zagori every day. Everything is fine; Forest authorities need stricter control to combat illegal logging. But that is why services with people need to be strengthened,” – says Mr. Tsoupinakis “K”.. And if this is happening in Zagori, which is a national forest, and above Ioannina, then you can understand what is happening in other places… At present, in many parts of the country, there are fights over who will take the wood from the forests, with complaints that reveal situations of favoritism, preferences, etc., if the necessary checks are not carried out by the forest service. Ultimately, the losses in these battles are measured in forests.

Cooperatives

The rules surrounding them are also the subject of controversy. Forest Workers’ Cooperatives (DSE)who are licensed to cut in the forest, usually in an approved area. According to the latest regulation, passed about three years ago, each DSE must have at least 21 members, up from seven previously, while also allowing people involved in timber businesses to participate in cooperatives. To date, there are 268 registered forestry units in the relevant register of the Ministry of the Environment, employing about 8,500 forest workers. While the previous agreement was in effect, there were about 7,000 forest workers. Surprisingly, the trend of leaving the countryside does not affect this particular sector. “Many cooperatives have virtual members. They look at 21, even old-age family members write, but in reality they work 3-4. However, this is how they can “beat” jobs, effectively excluding foresters with many years of experience. All we have to do is earn extra money,” a forester from Trikala tells us. He adds that it is precisely because few people go to the mountains that they need a contract extension to complete the job. “Many of the new cooperatives have been set up by traders who thus get wood cheaply but sell it dearly,” he adds.

Complaints about “big and heavy trucks” hauling loaded timber out of Zagori, which is a national forest.

Of course, there are other opinions that believe that 21 members are more reliable than seven. “The key issue is the real control over cooperatives and foresters. It is not enough to have a forester card with 50 stamps. How much really works? The state should help real cooperatives and especially newcomers. And also not to discriminate in favor of the “famous”. We need changes in the law.” – says Mr. Tsoupinakis “K”..

It turns out that in some areas the creation of forestry cooperatives has become a popular activity. In the municipality of Zagori, for example, there are already ten DSEs.

Another problem is that in some areas local forestry departments have not been able to conduct forest management studies to determine the points and volumes that can be legally cut down. This leads to arbitrary logging practices as well as public forests like the apple of Eris. There, distribution is also carried out according to local criteria, which, however, causes additional tension. In some cases, there is a war over the DSE headquarters, which can provide access to an area with abundant timber. The law states that in order for a cooperative to be located in a municipality, 2/3 of its members must live there. However, this does not apply to communal villages, as a result of which some declare villages with forest timber reserves to be their headquarters, although they are not from there, causing discontent among local residents.

“Because of the energy crisis, the load on forests in terms of deforestation is increasing. Therefore, it is necessary to have an effective forest control system on the part of the Forest Service, which is the competent authority, but for this it must be strengthened by hiring forest guards”, – says Mr. Nikos Bokaris “K”.on behalf of the Panhellenic Union of Foresters.

Firewood prices are on the rise

Even non-Energy and Natural Gas prices have soared, registering 40%-50% growth compared to last year. Prices of course “play” from city to city, from dealer to dealer and of course from the type of wood. However, in general they are very high. In Athens, at the moment, mixed wood is sold for about 150 euros per cubic meter, pine for 140-150 euros (from 100 euros last year), beech 160-180 euros (from 115), oak 160-180 euros (from 120 euros) . ) and olives 180-190 euros (from 130). Accordingly, the rate of prices for pellets and briquettes is also on the rise. The demand for firewood is very high, up to twice as much, which raises great concerns about the conditions that will develop in cities on cold nights, with massive firewood burning. The fact that cooperatives sell at a price of 45-55 euros per cubic meter testifies to how large the gap between felling and sale is.