The nightmare of fires awoke once more this 12 months. Ashes and particles from Evros to Kos and from Attica to Chios, areas the place the 112 “alert” within the earlier days hit more durable than anticipated.
Since final weekend, the Hearth Division has been coping with massive fires and fixed rekindling. And we’re nonetheless originally of the fireplace season.
In long-suffering Dadia, a creeping fireplace burned farmland and ravines, however the well timed response of the fireplace brigade put an finish to the anguish of residents, who by September 2023 had seen greater than 935,000 hectares of virgin forest diminished to ashes. In Serifos, nevertheless, the flames died out at sea after they’d unfold to an energetic entrance of 15 kilometers.
Final week, Attica was additionally surrounded by fires, with a hearth within the Parnitha Nationwide Park, in Katsimidi and others in Keratea, Stamata, Glyka Nera, Koropi. Areas which have been affected by successive fires lately, which is able to make their restoration troublesome.
Entangled lands
Based on the FireHUB real-time detection and monitoring service of the Past Operational Unit of the Nationwide Observatory of Athens, about 20% of the land burned this June had been burned up to now (since 2007). The truth is, 11.7% belong to the community of NATURA protected areas. The hearth on the borders of the prefectures of Achaia – Ilia occurred in a closely burdened space that’s usually affected by critical fires, similar to the fireplace in Stamata Attica, the place fires happen nearly yearly.
Particularly Parnitha has been destroyed by successive fires in 2019, 2021, 2023 and this 12 months, whereas Keratea in 2016 and 2021. Within the double burned areas, the mechanisms of pure regeneration are exhausted and the vegetation can’t get better. “In Keratea the fireplace burned outdated burned areas and a few areas that had been in pure regeneration from the fires of 2016 and 2021. Which means there we is not going to see a forest regenerating naturally, nor in Parnitha the place the fireplace fully burned pure regeneration of 2021 , nor in Chios the place the fireplace handed by way of areas that had burned once more in 2016» notes the motion coordinator for forest fires at WWF Greece, Mr. Ilias Tziritis.
The issue within the areas that burn repeatedly, in line with him, is qualitative. “These lands which have burned up to now have to be protected as a precedence, as a result of in the event that they burn repeatedly, then the one answer is synthetic restoration with all the prices and energy this implies. On the similar time, in Lavrio, areas that had been reforested had been additionally threatened, whereas dams put in by the forest division, after the earlier fireplace, had been additionally burnt. So there may be once more a threat of corrosion» says Mr. Tziritis.
There are usually not sufficient sources for prevention
Final Sunday alone, 52 agroforestry fires broke out, of which 44 had been handled instantly, whereas till Wednesday the climate circumstances favored others in Chios, Kos, Heraklion, Crete, and so on. And the powerful fireplace season continues to be forward, after a freak climate 12 months by which local weather change seems to have performed its half, with an absence of rain creating harmful circumstances in forests and woodlands.
As for stopping the incidence of forest fires, the sources obtainable for cleansing forest lands from flamable biomass, opening and sustaining the forest highway community, creating combined fireplace safety zones and different actions, by way of the AntiNero program, with a complete finances of greater than half a billion euros, fall in need of the wants of a countryside deserted for years.
As said by the Minister of Setting and Power Mr. Theodoros Skylakakis presenting the actions of AntiNero, “even with this large-scale program we’re defending 10% of the forests“, stating on the similar time that 200-400 euros are required to clear one hectare of forest and Greek forests cowl an space of 34 million hectares.
Nevertheless, inside the framework of AntiNero actions I and II, 117,000 hectares had been cleared, work was carried out to enhance and preserve 32,600 km of forest highway community and three,000 km of fireside safety zones, and fireplace safety plans had been drawn up for 39 important forest ecosystems. AntiNero III is underway to clear 71,058 hectares of forest, enhance and preserve 103,741 hectares of forest highway community and 21,197 km of fireside zones in addition to the creation of combined fireplace zones of 65,357 hectares.
As for the ministry’s initiative to create fireplace safety zones round settlements which might be situated in or close to forests and forested areas of excessive threat for the incidence of fires, a program of 30 million euros was opened from the sources of the Inexperienced Fund to finance municipalities, by which they’ve joined 173 municipalities. It’s estimated that roughly 60% of all perimeter zones surrounding settlements situated inside or close to forest ecosystems might be coated. Nevertheless, it stays to be seen whether or not the works might be accomplished by this 12 months’s fireplace season.
The place does the European exhibition focus?
In any case, a report by the European Civil Safety Mechanism, which was drawn up on the request of the Ministry of Local weather Disaster, recommends that Greece place extra emphasis on prevention, on higher cooperation between the Hearth and Forest Service and on their assist with specialised personnel and additional funds . Nevertheless, he acknowledges that lately our nation has been making efforts to alter the fireplace threat administration mannequin, which whereas specializing in suppression, is step by step turning to the administration of the chance of their incidence, i.e. prevention.
Nevertheless, the scientists from France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Norway who wrote the report level to the necessity for elevated funds for prevention in addition to the shortage of employees and sources of native businesses and the Forest Service.
The necessity to strengthen the position of the forestry providers with sources and workers can be identified by the president of the Panhellenic Union of Forestry Public Staff, Mr. Nikos Bokaris in order that they apply scientific data in follow, adequately supervise the forests and full preventive and preventive initiatives in a well timed method.
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