As the wildfire on Mount Pangaio continues to burn for a fifth day, concerns are growing over the protection of Greece's Natura 2000 sites. Symeon Kedikoglou, Member of Parliament for Evia and Head of the Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Department for SYRIZA-PS, has issued a stark warning about the state of these ecologically significant areas.
“It is evident that Natura 2000 areas in our country are essentially unprotected,” Kedikoglou stated, referencing data from the European Commission’s 2023 report on wildfires. “Greece ranks first in the number of hectares of Natura 2000 land burned, both in absolute terms and as a percentage of the total area.”
Kedikoglou has called on the leadership of the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, as well as the Fire Department, to take immediate and comprehensive action to extinguish the fire on Mount Pangaio. He emphasised that the ongoing fire is yet another instance of a blaze threatening areas of significant ecological and aesthetic value, rich in biodiversity and home to rare species of flora and fauna, all of which are part of the Natura 2000 network.
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