VZCZCXYZ0012
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTH #1659/01 3291642
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O R 251642Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY ATHENS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1132
INFO RUEHTH/AMEMBASSY ATHENS

UNCLAS ATHENS 001659 
 
SIPDIS 
STATE PASS TO U.S. FOREST SERVICE 
STATE PASS TO USAID/OFDA 
STATE PASS TO FEMA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR EAID PREL SENV SOCI GR
SUBJECT: Greece: Lacking a Fire Prevention Strategy Despite US 
Cooperation 
 
REF: A.) 08 ATHENS 847; B.) 09 ATHENS 1560; C.) 09 ATHENS 1547 
D.) 09 ATHENS 1643 
 
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Summary 
 
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¶1.  (SBU) Despite significant U.S. cooperation programs, Greece 
continues to lack a comprehensive fire prevention policy and does 
not have a wildfire prevention strategy. The Greek Government has 
sought to leverage any investment the U.S. is willing to provide in 
wildfire prevention and emergency response planning, but appears to 
have difficulty prioritizing its needs.  Additionally, U.S. 
willingness to support Greece's fire department and emergency 
responders has helped our bilateral relationship.  A primary 
obstacle, however, has been a Greek bureaucracy that has not been 
conducive to interagency cooperation.  The recent restructuring of 
the government under the newly-elected Panhellenic Socialist 
Movement party (PASOK), however, may provide an opportunity for the 
U.S. to more effectively support Greece's effort to improve its 
fire prevention posture. The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and FEMA 
have been involved in successful initiatives to train appropriate 
Greek organizations on firefighting and emergency response, but 
Post believes remaining U.S. funding and support would be more 
effective if focused on encouraging a comprehensive fire prevention 
policy. 
 
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Weak Forest Department Leaves Emphasis on Fire Suppression, Not 
Prevention 
 
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¶2.  (U) Wildfires are a frequent phenomenon in Greece in the summer 
months. Although forests do have the ability to regenerate 
themselves after burning, the rate of wildfires in Greece has far 
outpaced the regeneration cycle. The seriousness of the problem was 
exemplified in 2007 when Greece experienced its worst fire season 
in modern history; the fires burned over 800,000 acres of land, 
damaged over 3,000 buildings, and killed 76 people (see reftel A). 
Despite the predictability of the timing and destructiveness of 
wildfires, Greece has not prioritized fire prevention and forest 
monitoring.  This was evident in the fires in 2009, which while not 
as devastating as 2007, consumed about 50,000 acres and 50 homes 
(see reftel B). 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Greece's ability to prevent and contain wildfires began 
to erode significantly about a decade ago, when the Government of 
Greece (GoG) shifted responsibility for wildfire management from 
the Greek forestry protection service, now the General Directorate 
of Development and Protection of Forests (DPF), to the Hellenic 
Fire Service (HFS).  The forest protection service, comprising 
forest rangers, was charged with studying, monitoring, and 
protecting the Greek wild lands.  HFS, without the equivalent 
forestry knowledge and experience, had a mandate and structure 
focused on responding to fires in urban areas rather than 
preventing the breakout of fires in more rural areas.  According to 
a Greek forest expert, this policy decision left no entity within 
the GoG adequately equipped to monitor and protect Greece's 
forests.  This policy change may have seriously undermined Greece's 
ability to prevent and contain wildfires. 
 
¶4. (SBU) HFS does not prioritize or value fire prevention as a key 
aspect of fire management.  According to Dr. Gavriil Xanthopoulos, 
an expert on Greek wildfires from the Institute of Mediterranean 
Forest Ecosystems & Forest Product Technology, ever since HFS took 
over the responsibility for protecting Greece's forests the DPF has 
seen its staff reduced, its budget slashed, and its area of 
responsibility diminished. Though, in contrast, the Fire Service's 
staff and budget have increased to cover its larger mandate.  The 
Fire Service, however, has continued to focus on its mission of 
protecting lives and personal property.  Public relations officer 
for HFS Ioannis Kapakis, in a September 2009 meeting with Econoff, 
confirmed this view, stating that Greece does not prioritize fire 
prevention programs.  Utilizing the 2007 funding provided by 
USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) (see reftel 
A), the USFS has provided, in addition to other technical 
assistance, fire prevention training programs to Greece.  However, 
Kapakis told Econoff that the Aerial Firefighting Training and the 
Fire Investigation Training were the most useful training programs 
 
 
provided. 
 
¶5.  (U) Comparisons between fire damage two decades ago versus 
today point to the need to prioritize fire prevention.  According 
to a 2008 study from the EC Joint Research Centre's Institute for 
Environment and Sustainability, the total area burned in Greece in 
the period between 1990 and 1999 was just over 108,000 acres.  In 
the period from 2000 to the present day, approximately 160,000 
acres have burned in Greece.  While factors such as climate change, 
development and arson (many Greeks often remark that ambitious 
landowners have purposefully burned their forest land to construct 
illegal homes) may be contributing factors, the 2008 EC study 
estimated that more than 50 percent of forest fires in Southern 
Europe are caused by human negligence. Fire prevention programs, 
therefore, could have a significant impact in helping to reduce the 
incidence of fires and minimizing the damage once fires break out. 
In the mid-1990s, DPF had established a forestry-trained military 
unit called the 'dasokommando' (Forest Commandos) with the help of 
Xanthopoulos, whose mission was to contain forest fires, and 
protect against the extreme spread of dangerous fires during the 
dry season.  The team was trained in specific techniques at 
containing forest fires, and the unique aspects of Greece's 
forests. 
 
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Greek Agencies Happy With US Support; But Disorganization Adds 
Confusion 
 
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¶6.  (SBU) The GoG has been enthusiastic about US support to improve 
their fire management and emergency response posture.  Following 
the Ambassador's declaration of a national disaster during the 2007 
Greek fires, USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) 
allocated what came to be a total of USD 2.2 million in monetary 
assistance to Greece. Reftel A outlines the specifics of the 
package, which included an initial assessment of emergency 
post-fire needs and recommendations for next steps.  Since then, 
the United States has cooperated with relevant Greek ministries to 
provide different training programs related to fire management and 
emergency response.  The USFS has provided the Fire Service various 
training programs using funding from the 2007 USAID assistance 
package.  Also, USFS has sponsored Greek foresters from DPF to 
attend training in the US with OFDA funding through USFS's 
international programs. Separate from programs funded using the 
2007 assistance, FEMA has also engaged with the GoG in broader 
disaster assistance areas.  FEMA recently completed a two-week 
training program in Athens in early November to administer a Master 
Exercise Practitioner Program course to emergency response 
officials from different regions in Greece. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) U.S. funding, however, would have a bigger, more 
meaningful impact if the GoG had a clear policy objective to 
prevent wildfires.  There is a lack of coordination within the GoG 
on how remaining U.S. assistance funds should be programmed.  Kelly 
Saini, Special Advisor to the Secretary General of Civil 
Protection, has requested that the United States send Greek civil 
servants to the United States for emergency response training, 
suggesting we divert previously allocated funds from the 2007 USFS 
assistance package with HFS to Civil Protection.  This request, 
however, does not appear to be coordinated with the HFS, for whom 
the funding was originally intended.  The USFS has been waiting for 
the HFS to respond with its 2010 training priorities, which have 
been delayed as a result of the October elections and subsequent 
reorganization.  Econoff and USFS official have asked the Ministry 
of Citizens' Protection, which oversees both Civil Protection and 
the HFS to prioritize their programming requests for the final 
tranche of U.S. assistance (approximately $250,000).  Post is 
urging they consider a focus on preventative programs.  The 
disorganization and bureaucracy has discouraged many foreign 
governments from cooperating with Greece in the past.  The British 
withdrew their offers of assistance in 2007, choosing not to fight 
a Greek bureaucracy that resisted addressing critical issues (see 
reftel A).  Recently, the USFS offered the Greek Forest Department 
two fully-paid spots in a watershed management course for April 
2010, but Greek officials missed the November 1 deadline to name 
their candidates, and have not been responsive to date. 
 
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COMMENT: New Leadership in GoG, New Opportunity for US Cooperation 
 
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¶8. (SBU) The new GoG's avowed concern for the environment provides 
an opening for the U.S. to urge the prioritization of effective 
forest monitoring in order prevent and contain wildfires (see 
reftel C).  Previously, the Forest Department was under the 
Ministry of Rural Development and Food but it was recently moved to 
the new Ministry of Environment, Energy, and Climate Change.  The 
new Environment Minister, Tina Birbilli, already has taken on the 
issue of illegal construction in forests, proposing a bill on 
October 27 that would suspend all construction on burnt forestland 
in Attica and across Greece until government inspectors establish 
accurate forest maps.  Still, with the Hellenic Fire Service under 
the Citizens' Protection Ministry and the Forest Department in the 
Environment Ministry, the GoG will have to improve its interagency 
cooperation to effectively coordinate all aspects of fire policy, 
from prevention to suppression (see reftel D).  The Ambassador will 
be sending a summary of recommendations based on USFS visits and 
studies to the Minister of Citizens' Protection (see reftel D). 
The recommendations emphasize interagency cooperation and fire 
prevention. 
 
¶9. (SBU) COMMENT CONTINUED.  Any future U.S. support, including the 
remaining $250,000 from the 2007 USFS assistance package, should 
help support a proactive fire prevention campaign, as this can have 
a larger and longer-term impact on Greece's fire posture.  Also, 
the remaining U.S. funds should be used to train officials in 
Greece, as this too can have a more far-reaching impact than 
sending a small handful of officials to the U.S. for training.  END 
COMMENT. 
Speckhard