Greece: drafting a new law on forest land in the context of land policy

Louis C. Wassenhoven

Chapter 10 in The Value of Place, 2025, pp 142-155 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This chapter is placed in the broad context of land policy, considered as the apex of the pyramid of policy–management–administration (Hull et al. 2020). It is based on the discussions of the 2014 Greek law-drafting Committee on Forests and Forest Ecosystems (FOFEC) and draws on the author's personal records (as a member of the committee as the representative of the European Union Task Force for Greece). The discussions, which took place during the severe economic crisis that started in 2008, provide a sobering lesson on how inter-departmental divisions and conflicts can sabotage effective policy- and law-making. The chapter dwells on the deficiencies of cooperation between, on the one hand, spatial and urban planning and, on the other, forest policy and management. However, other divisions also appeared, perhaps with more serious consequences, between the departments of forestry, environment, and tourism. The discussions of FOFEC ran almost in parallel to those of a law-drafting Spatial and Urban Planning Committee (SUPC). The membership of both committees included high-ranking officials not only from the Ministry of the Environment (MinEnv), but also economic development and sectoral ministries. What was mainly at stake was the use of forest land, shrubland, and pastures for tourist activities – a crucial issue in the context of land policy. Sans frayeur dans ce bois, seule je suis venue (Marc-Antoine Charpentier).

Keywords: Forests; Legislation; Development in forest land; Departmental conflicts; Tourism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035347919
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