The decision to transfer parts of the forestry department’s responsibilities to the interior ministry lacks supporting studies and was taken without consultation, MPs at the House agriculture committee said on Tuesday.

“All the scientists, all the officials object to the decision and the government does not have any study in front of it that justifies the Cabinet’s decision,” committee chairman and Akel MP Yiannakis Gavriel said.

He referred to the decision as “unbelievable,” pointing out that it was announced during a period of intense public criticism of the authorities’ handling of their responsibilities following the Limassol wildfires in July.

The moving of responsibilities from the forestry department, Gavriel warned, could lead to circumstances like those in Greece.

Greece transferred responsibility for wildfires from its forestry department to the fire services in 1998, which resulted in a decline in the number of forest rangers, while the number of fire fighting forces increased.

The shift has been sharply criticised, as it effectively meant moving from wildfire prevention to merely reacting once fires had already begun.

Agriculture ministry director general Andreas Gregoriou, defending the decision, added it would lead to the creation of two new positions including the general director of civil protection and a national coordinator, with the latter set to be appointed in 2026.

He stressed that the transfer of responsibilities from the forestry department was being examined by a relevant working group which had convened twice at the end of October and beginning of November.

“We are working to be able to implement all decisions before the start of the new fire season in April 2026,” he said.

The interior ministry’s director-general Elikkos Elia emphasised that the decision to move the responsibilities to the interior ministry was not aimed at downgrading the department, affirming it would not affect employees.

Instead, the reform was part of the creation of a National Civil Protection Mechanism, co-funded by the European Union, Elias said.

Forestry department director Savvas Ezekiel expressed clear discontent with the planned reform.

He said that in 2025, a total of 314 fires were recorded, with an overall extinguishing rate of 90-92 per cent, which he said was “the best performance in the eastern Mediterranean.”

“We have had a comprehensive fire protection system since 1879,” he said, warning that moving fire protection from overall forest management would break the entire ecosystem and lead to serious consequences.

Pasydy union representative for forestry department employees Antonis Sarris also voiced concern over the lack of a studies or expertise backing the reform.

He stressed that the forestry department was very effective in state forests.

Sarris said that most fires did not start in these, but rather in rural areas, which do not fall under the responsibility of the department.

Therefore, he argued, a reorganisation of the department’s responsibilities made little sense and could possibly weaken a department that was already working efficiently.

“Weakening the forest department will worsen the situation,” he warned.

Agricultural organisations including Pek, Eka and Panagrotikos expressed similar concerns.

They warned the reform could increase the risk of delayed responses within the first critical hours of a fire and emphasised that cooperation with civil protection could be strengthened through other means, calling on President Nikos Christodoulides for an immediate review of the proposal.

The transfer of fire service and forest protection staff from the forestry department was announced in mid-September in a proposal that sees crisis management services in Cyprus brought together under the interior ministry.