Environmentalists have called for an in-depth investigation into the felling of 28 mature palm trees in Paphos, following a complaint from a local resident.

“We insist that municipalities follow the correct procedure before cutting down trees,” Paphos Green party representative Andreas Evlavis told the Cyprus Mail on Thursday.

“Any established mature tree must be inspected and measured by the forestry department before being marked for felling as it is illegal to cut down trees without a permit,” Evlavis said.

The Green party condemned the felling, which took place on Monday morning on Napoleon street, describing it as a “slaughter”.

“By 9am the trees were already cut so the crews must have moved in at the crack of dawn,” Evlavis said. By the time forestry department officials arrived to investigate the complaint and carry out the required measurements, only five of the original palm trees remained.

“We were told that three of the remaining trees met the protection criterion of a trunk girth wider than 40cm, but there was no information about the other two,” Evlavis said. He also raised concerns about the forestry department’s practice of measuring a tree’s girth at a height of 1.3 metres rather than at its base.
The Paphos mayor’s office was not immediately available for comment, and municipal officials declined to speak on the matter.

This is not the first time mature palm trees have been felled in the municipality. While some ecologists debate the value of palm trees in urban environments – arguing that they are less effective than other species in carbon capture and climate change mitigation – Evlavis insisted that cutting down established trees is a flawed approach.

Municipalities across parts of the US with climates similar to Cyprus have already banned the planting of new palm trees, favouring other species that provide more shade and absorb significantly more carbon.
Research from the University of Florida has shown that mature trees with large canopies can store nearly 100 times as much carbon as palm trees, whose fronds are more contained.

According to Evlavis, even with this reasoning, the felling of mature trees of any kind is a misguided tactic.
“Saplings require years to become established and have greater water needs. Beyond that, the decision to remove trees should not come down to personal aesthetic preference. The palm trees that were cut down had been growing for 40 to 50 years, and it takes decades for new trees to reach a similar level of maturity and provide equivalent environmental benefits – assuming replanting is even the intention,” he said.

Beyond the ecological debate, Evlavis stressed that the issue is one of accountability. “The point is that impromptu actions like this must not be tolerated. A permit was required to cut these trees, and it was not obtained,” he said.