House Environment Committee: Protection of 1,000-year-old long-standing trees

The Environment Committee of the Parliament, based on research by many scientists in the country and civil society, such as the research of the team of the Institute of Culture of Messinia on the century-old trees of the Peloponnese, which has also been under the auspices of the National Committee “Greece 2021”, devoted two special meetings to the recording, promotion and protection of the long-standing trees since the Revolution of 1821.

These long-standing trees, such as plane trees, olives, ities and oaks, sacred trees of some of them, were so inextricably linked to the Greeks and the Revolution that they were praised by the municipal tradition, while they personified greece itself and its fighters in the municipal song.

In the special tribute, the Committee on the Environment highlighted the importance of recording and increasing legal protection of the country’s long-standing trees and historic forests and submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Environment and Energy for the protection of these long-term trees, in addition to those already included in unesco’s list of “Nature Monuments”.

The commission President s decision, Dr. Saroyan, is a member of the Committee on Economic and Social Affairs and Dionysia – Theodora Avgerinopoulou, stated that “these trees are linked to important historical events during the Greek Revolution and, on the other hand, provide us with useful information on climate change and biodiversity and should be preserved monuments of nature and culture. Long-standing trees are “living monuments of natural history, which we must preserve for future generations as well”.

The Minister of the Environment and Energy, Giorgos Amyra, announced at the Meeting of the Commission his intention to create a National Strategy for the Protection of The Long-Term Trees of 1821.

Typical examples are the plane tree in Nafplio, the oak tree in Pylos, the ancient olive tree in the Holy Monastery of Panagia Eleousa in Bartholomew, but also trees with a history of millennia, which dates back more than 1,000 years, which are now “living historical monuments and monuments of nature” and deserve to protect. These trees will be followed by biological and historical documentation, as well as the creation of a special website, special marking and an increased protection system.