Homeowner stunned after local officials destroy decades-old forest on private property: 'This is outrageous'

In what the owner said was an act of vandalism, municipality crews have been accused of illegally cutting down 60 cypress trees on private property in Mesa Geitonia, Cyprus. 

Irene Antoniadou, the owner of the property, told In-Cyprus the workers entered her fenced property without permission while she was away and cut down the grove, damaging other trees on her property in the process. 

The trees were 30 years old and over seven meters (20 feet) tall. The area's deputy mayor said the crew was within their rights, as the trees were on public land and not private property, and that they exceeded the legal height of three meters (about 10 feet), causing a safety hazard to a nearby footpath. 

Antoniadou said she had received no prior complaints, and the mayor did say the crew was meant to prune the trees rather than cut them down.  

Regardless of the truth, the loss of 30 trees has not only changed the property they were taken from, but it will affect the greater local ecosystem. 

Trees are incredibly important at a time when the effects of rising global temperatures are becoming clearer, including in the region of this incident with olive trees. They are major players in slowing the planet's warming, as they absorb and store loads of planet-warming carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. 

Trees in urban areas also benefit the mental and physical health of those living there and can even lead to longer lives. 

As shocking as it may seem, people cutting down trees and forests they don't own is sadly becoming all too common, and it takes decades for them to grow back. Thankfully, many of the perpetrators are seeing consequences. While this won't bring back the lost trees, it will hopefully deter others from taking the same devastating actions. 

As far as Antoniadou's trees are concerned, "What happened wasn't pruning — it was slaughter," said Andreas Evlavis, the Movement of Ecologists coordinator for the district, per In-Cyprus. 

"While we're all talking about climate change and the importance of trees for our quality of life, some people use weak excuses about trees affecting health," Evlavis added. "This is outrageous."

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