Wildfires in southwestern Europe: how to prevent them?
Fanned by drought and heat, devastating forest fires are raging in the southern French department of Aude and on the Iberian Peninsula. French Interior Minister Retailleau has described the French wildfire which destroyed 16,000 hectares but is now reportedly under control as the worst since 1949. The media discuss why the natural landscape has become so vulnerable to fires.
Forest management must diversify
Forest areas must be restored to their original state as vibrant habitats, ecology and biodiversity professor Helena Freitas explains in Público:
“The forest has become fragile, falling prey to a combination of prolonged drought, rural exodus and monotonous landscapes dominated by eucalyptus, pine trees, scrubland and invasive plant species. Insisting on fast-growing monocultures means condemning the land to repeat the same tragedy year after year. ... Portugal needs a new, more diverse and more intelligent forestry industry. One that values sustainable and innovative products, promotes quality employment and strengthens local communities.”
Failed agricultural policy
One reason for the rapid spread of the fires is the abandonment of cultivated land, farmer and journalist Jean-Paul Pelras laments in Le Point:
“Where are the politicians now? They offer winegrowers a derisory sum of between 2,500 and 4,000 euros per hectare to give up a tool, part of their patrimony, a centuries-old mode of production that is the only thing capable of stopping the fires. Here in the Aude department in southern France, for example, another 4,955 hectares, or 7.81 percent of the vineyards, have been uprooted. These leaders pronounce their decisions in Paris or Brussels from the comfort of their air-conditioned offices or on televised talk shows without knowing what it costs to save a country when the people have left and it starts to burn!”
Not only the south needs better prevention
The more northerly but densely populated Belgium is also inadequately prepared for wildfires, warns La Libre Belgique:
“The Ministry of Defence recently purchased special kits with which its helicopters can pour water on fires. It is also examining the possibility of converting its large A400M transporters into water bombers. However the fight against forest fires is not so much a task for the army than for the firefighter services and the Civil Protection. And there is every indication that they are not in a position to fulfil this task. The personnel lack the necessary training and the equipment is also not up to standard. Not to mention the land use and urban planning provisions, which tend to neglect this specific area of prevention.”