The Riparian Forest Kotza Orman, also known as the Great Forest, is a natural landscape of exceptional ecological value and beauty. Once one of the largest waterlogged forests in Europe, it covered 74,000 str. in the 1950s. In 1946, however, 54,000 str. were cleared for agricultural use. Today only a small section remains, preserved by the Kavala Forestry Department through fencing and restrictions on human activity. The forest has a diverse flora, including willows, alders, oaks, elms, ferns and climbing plants such as ivy, hops and wild vines. It is home to many species of wildlife, including wild boar, jackals, foxes, deer, hares, badgers and Europe's only non-farmed population of cochineal pheasants. The Forestry Department manages some 15,000 str. of poplar trees in the area, both for timber and to restore the natural riverside ecosystem. Kodza Orman Forest offers visitors a unique insight into a once vast and vital habitat.