END-OF-FIRE SEASON UPDATE IN GREECE: SIGNIFICANT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ATHENS 001660 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAGR EAID PREL SENV SOCI GR RU SUBJECT: END-OF-FIRE SEASON UPDATE IN GREECE: SIGNIFICANT USG ASSISTANCE BUT GOG STILL LACKS COORDINATION REF: ATHENS 00851 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Greece had a low-intensity fire season in 2008 with one major fire in July on the island of Rhodes that destroyed 13,000 hectares of land. Fires reappeared in early December, hitting Rhodes again and burning over 3,700 hectares of land. The GoG continues to lack coordination in fire prevention and response among the relevant ministries, but had better success with its efforts on a purely operational level. ¶2. (SBU) The GoG has welcomed USG efforts in technical assistance and requested additional training on arson investigation, fire prevention, and Burned Area Emergency Recovery (BAER). As a gesture of appreciation for USG assistance on fires, the GoG sent five of their fire-fighters to assist in the California wildfires in August. End Summary. General Overview of Fire Season -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Compared to the devastating fire-season last summer, this year's fire season can be described as low-intensity with the exception of the fires that hit the island of Rhodes in July and again in December impacting over 17,000 acres of land. July's damages included 7,000 hectares of forest and 2,000 hectares of agricultural land. The Hellenic Fire Service (HFS) said it sent ten airplanes and four helicopters to assist in putting out the fire in Rhodes. Despite HFS' attempt to spin the news positively, news reports cited "poor Greek precautions" on the fire situation, with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) saying that, "Rhodes paid the price this year for the insufficiency of the country's fire protection system." ¶4. (SBU) Rhodes was again hit on December 3 when wildfires broke out and continued unchecked the following day. HFS said it had difficulty reaching the island due to strong wind conditions that made it hard for fire-fighting aircraft to reach the island and meant that boats, confined to the port of Rhodes, were unable to transport fire-fighters. The fire reportedly started with the burning of brushwood and gained momentum with the heavy winds, burning 3,700 hectares of forest and brush. ¶5. (SBU) Man-made fires caused by negligence contributed to the most severe fires this season. In the mountainous region of Greece, an individual accidentally set fire to a bee-hive next to a natural gas valve. In another instance, a woman threw a burning pan into the woods behind her house, causing the area to catch on fire. The HFS claimed to be active in investigating and arrested several suspects who deliberately set the fires. (Note: According to a May 2008 USFS report, deliberate fires are an ongoing problem in Greece as land is burned in order to prepare the field for farms and to create grazing areas for animals. End Note.) USG Technical Assistance Efforts -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Through USD 2.2 million in funding from USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA),the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) embarked in 2007 on a two-year cooperative effort to exchange information and technical expertise in wildfire management (reftel). This included a USFS visit to Greece in May 2008 to evaluate the Greek fire prevention techniques and investigation and subsequently, the development of formal training courses for Greek officials involved in fire-fighting, protection of forests and crisis management. This capacity-building and training is aimed mostly at the technical and administrative levels. ¶7. (SBU) In 2008, USFS executed the following activities: -- US-based aerial supervision and ground crew training (April - May 2008) -- Wildland fire investigation and fire prevention training (May 2008) -- International seminar on forest administration and management (October 2008) -- Fire prevention study tour (November 2008) The USFS is planning the following collaboration for 2009: -- Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) case study and training (TBD) -- International seminar on watershed management (March 2009) -- Fire shelter training (TBD) -- Additiona fire investigation training (TBD) -- Additioal aerial supervision and ground crew training ATHENS 00001660 002 OF 003 (TBD) GoG Feedback on USG Assistance -------------- ¶8. (SBU) In general, all the Greek interlocutors were thankful for USG efforts on fire assistance and prevention. The HFS highlighted the usefulness of the training on fire arson and investigation in May and in November 2008. The HFS requested additional training on arson-techniques and fire prevention for the Greek context. In addition, the HFS said they would like to launch a targeted public awareness campaign to educate and sensitize citizens on fires caused by negligence. ¶9. (SBU) The HFS is seeking fire-fighting aircraft. We have made it clear that we are constrained in providing aviation equipment due to resources. The HFS told EconOff in a December 4 meeting that they lease Russian aircrafts during fire-season and bid out the contract. Greek interlocutors have told Director Tom Harbour in previous meetings that they prefer the Russian use of "foam" in fire-fighting aircrafts versus the use of "retardants" in US fire-fighting planes. ¶10. (SBU) Yiannis Anastaskis, the advisor to Ministry for the Environment, Physical Planning, and Public Works (MinEnv),said the GoG would like the USFS to conduct additional BAER training and perhaps develop a BAER manual. Anastaskis told EconOff that a formal request from the GoG with details on BAER training would be provided once his assembled working group had reached a consensus on next steps for the protection of environment. (Note: Post is following up. End Note.) Inter-agency Disconnect -------------- ¶11. (SBU) In spite of concerted USG focus on using assistance to buttress Greek coordination on fires, the GoG continues to suffer in this area. The last senior-level Inter-Ministerial Committee meeting took place in June 2008 and the next one is planned for March 2009. (Note: As reported in reftel following the 2007 fires, there continues to be a lack of urgency and senior-level attention responding only in moments of crisis. End Note.) On a working-level, participants gathered from the HFS, Civil Protection, and the Geotechnical Institute of Greece, on October 30 to discuss the roles and responsibilities of each agency and Ministry. The Ministry of Agriculture (MinAg) was noticeably absent. Advisor to SecGen of Environment Yiannis Anastaskis led the meeting and told EconOff that he would report on the outcome and plans from the working group. ¶12. (SBU) GoG working level officials are concerned about the lack of coordination. In a separate meeting with the Forestry Service, representative Vereniki Louka said the ministries had divided responsibilities with little cohesion, so it was hard to know what was going on at a national level. Director of Emergency Planning at the Secretariat of Civil Protection Fivos Theodorou said his Secretariat was trying to coordinate with all relevant ministries, but the MinEnv was not actively engaged. (Note: Greek interlocutors in the NGO community have complained to EconOff that the MinEnv is primarily focused on public works projects and does not place a high priority on the environment. End Note.) ¶13. (SBU) HFS General Apostolos Gerokostas reported to EconOff that coordination was certainly better than last year, but there needed to be a general understanding that this was a common problem and needed to be dealt with by all the relevant parties. Gerokostas said there could be greater involvement by the Ministry of Agriculture, under which the Forestry Service is housed. Comment: -------------- ¶14. (SBU) The 2007 fire should have precipitated greater GoG engagement on disaster response and crisis management on both a cohesive policy and operational level. Although there has been some degree of improvement on the operational level, there remain communication gaps, especially in the coordination of over-arching policy. Each ministry points the finger at the other party for not doing more. The fire-fighters hit the ground running with the equipment they have available and the Forestry Service tries to clean up the mess, while Civil Protection vies with the MinEnv to lead the effort on senior-level inter-agency coordination. USG assistance has made some inroads by providing Greece with technical expertise on an operational level, but if the fires ATHENS 00001660 003 OF 003 reach a catastrophic magnitude, as happened in the 2007 fire season, a well-coordinated and well-managed policy out of the GoG would be surprising, particularly in light of recent events. End Comment. SPECKHARD