Less than 30% of funds for fire prevention/Most of the money for financing extinguishing operations
The devastating fires that have ravaged many regions of Spain this year have highlighted a perennial question: is the country investing enough in prevention, or is it continuing to prioritize extinguishing fires once they have broken out? Official data shows that, despite repeated warnings from scientists and foresters, the vast majority of public resources are still being directed at fighting fires rather than preventing them.
According to the latest data available from the Spanish Ministry of Ecological Transition (MITECO), both the central government and the autonomous communities allocate less than 30% of total funding for forest fires to preventive actions, such as forest clearing, the creation of fire protection zones and the management of forest vegetation. Instead, most of the money is directed to financing firefighting operations, firefighting forces and emergency equipment.
Of the approximately 600 million euros allocated in total by the state and regions to deal with the fires, only 175 million euros were invested in preventive interventions.
Forestry experts warn that this option is proving increasingly problematic as climate change increases the frequency, duration and intensity of extreme fires. They argue that proper forest management during winter and spring could significantly limit the spread of fires in the summer months, reducing both human losses and economic costs.
This picture is exacerbated by another serious problem. Although almost 56% of the Spanish territory is classified as forest land, less than 20% of forests have an approved management plan. In other words, four out of five hectares of forests remain without a comprehensive plan for the exploitation and protection of their natural resources, which significantly complicates both the prevention and effective response to fires.
The main conclusion emerging from the data is that, despite the continued increase in fire intensity due to the climate crisis, funding for prevention still lags significantly behind suppression.
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