What is Defined as Forest Land in Greece?
As part of an effort to complete its Forest Cadaster, Greece has re-surveyed its land in order to distinguish public forest lands from land which is privately owned. The process of declaring properties to the Hellenic Land Registry has not been simple for Greece’s cities, since many municipalities do not have ownership deeds to submit for schools, municipal buildings, and public squares.
Among the lands considered forest lands are “Grasslands located on semi-mountainous, mountainous and uneven terrains,” “parts of parks or groves, which have non-forest vegetation but are organically connected to the whole of the park or grove,” and “organic set of wild plants with a woody trunk on the necessary surface of the ground.” But what do these designations mean? And how do I check if my own plot contains protected forest land? We’ll help demystify these questions in this article.
How Much of Greece’s Land has been Mapped?
By December 2022, the most recent estimates showed that maps have been made for 90% of Greece’s territory. It is likely that now, in July of 2023, there are virtually no areas left to be mapped. The new updated maps by the Greek Forest Registry classify 60 percent of Greece as forestry land. Compared to half a century ago, this is an increase. In the Dodecanese Islands, for example, there was a 10.6 percent increase, and the island of Lefkada in the Ionian Sea had a 35 percent boost.
What are the Advantages of Creating Forest Maps?
From the perspective of the Greek Forestry Service, the goal is to protect forests and grasslands and to consolidate the Greek state’s property rights over Greece’s forests. It also creates the possibility to develop a Forestry Species Registry in the future.
Deputy Environment Minister Giorgos Amyras was quoted saying that “forest maps ensure the protection of Greek forests, safeguard citizens’ property, do away with bureaucracy and free up investments.”
How do I Check the Status of my Land?
It’s best to check with the official forest service website, not just the seller of a piece of land or locals. Many sellers will claim you can build on their land, for example. You can check the state of your land on https://gis.ktimanet.gr/gis/forestfinal.
The green areas represent forest land. The yellow lands are defined as private lands. The neutral color represents areas where there was an objection. You can click the “info” button on any area of the map for more specific details and the 2-letter designation.
Can I Build on Forestry Land?
If you have land in an area that is now classified as forestry land, as the landowner you have limitations on building and developing there. This is because forestry land, along with coastland and archaeological sites, are considered common use and belonging to the state. You can only build on the sections of your land which are not defined as forest land.
Keep in mind that the minimum area required to build on a plot is 4,000 square meters. If your plot totals 5,000 square meters, but 2,000 square meters are defined as forest land, you effectively only have 3,000 square meters of “buildable” space. Therefore, you would not be able to build on this plot. However, if your plot is 5,000 square meters, and 500 meters were defined as forest land, you could build on the 4,500 remaining square meters without restrictions.
There are also some restrictions on how close the edge of a structure comes to the boundary of a forested area. In other words, you need to offer the forest an acceptable “breathing room.”
What if I Live in a City or Village?
Villages and cities are exempt from forest land. See the image below of Athens’ region, also known as Attica. It is outlined in black, and no area inside is highlighted in green.
What Categories are Assigned?
Lands fall into 2 broad categories: Areas that are forest land (D), and areas which are private land (A).
The 2 letters correspond to a “before and after” logic. The first letter is based on aerial images from 1945, when the military took comprehensive pictures of Greece’s land from airplanes. (Note that no letter was assigned in 1945, but the pictures were referred to in the current survey). The second letter refers to the new designation. Some lands which were forest land in 1945 are no longer considered forest land, and visa versa.
If your land falls into the first category, it means that your land contains at least some forest land. These are the subcategories: The areas which refer to forests are DD, DA, AD, and AA. Current forest areas (Anything ending with “D”) is associated with significant restrictions to building. “D” stands for Δ in Greek, which represents the Greek word for forest. Anything ending with A is outside the framework of forest regulation. “X” refers to a third category- grasslands.
DD: First it was a forest, now it is still a forest
DA: First it was a forest, now it is no longer a forest
AD: It was not a forest originally, but now it is a forest
AA: It was not considered a forest originally, and is no longer considered a forest
PD, PA, E.G.: These designation in Greek all start with the first initial “Π”. This indicates that at some point, a document was given by the state which designated the plot as “non-forest land.” For example, the Greek goverment gave land to refugees after the 1920s refugee crisis and population exchange with Turkey. The planning department allowed refugees to build on this land in the past, so in current maps it is marked with a “Π.”
XX: First it was considered grassland, and it is still considered grassland
XA: First it was considered grassland, but is no longer grassland
AX: First it was not considered grassland, but now it is considered grassland
Can I Appeal for an Objection?
When the forest maps started to be updated, you had a time deadline to apply for an “FMO” – A forest map objection. This was typically about 20 days for locals and 100 days if you lived out of country. Costs to submit an FMO are associated with the area you are submitting the objection for, as well as the cost of a Technical Consultant you hire. At this point, it’s too late to appeal for an objection, since most forest maps were completed several years ago.
How Long Do Objections Take?
It is not uncommon for objections to take several years. This is a result of a limited number of committees who review objections. The committees are formed by the Ministry of Environment and Energy and are known as “Objection Review Committees.” They are typically made up of a lawyer, a forester, and an engineer. As of January 2013, there were 116 committees. The plan is to increase this number to 200 committees, in order to process 20,000 objections per month. It’s unclear when precisely these changes will be made. The committees are also now paid based on how many objections they process per month.
Can a Building Permit be Issued for a Portion of a Plot?
Yes. Even if you have forest land on part of your plot, the section that does not contain forest land is eligible for a building permit.
What Happens in Areas that Haven’t Been Mapped?
For areas without a forest map, the Ministry of the Interior plans to publish a complete map by the end of 2023, identifying forest or non-forest categorization. These areas are negligible, as mentioned above.
