The Deputy Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Fabrizia Lapecorella, considers that since 2017, Portugal has implemented very ambitious reforms to prevent rural fires, pointing to the creation of Agência para a Gestão Integrada de Fogos Rurais (AGIF) as one of the most important measures.
During the presentation of the European Union project, “Climate Adaptation: Prevention of Rural Fires in Portugal”, the result of a collaboration between AGIF and the OECD, Fabrizia Lapecorella stressed that since then, “very meritorious work has been done, which must continue so that the remaining plans that have been outlined can be implemented.”
Within the project presented, the intention is meant to involve all actors in prevention techniques and to identify the most sensitive areas and the most appropriate policies for the protection of rural areas.
The director general of the European Commission, Mário Nava, also highlighted the knowledge gained and developments made in recent years, also reiterating the importance of prevention.
Tiago Oliveira, President of AGIF, stresses the necessity to improve decision quality and the use of available resources.
“We have 300 days a year to clear and manage land, to coordinate procedures between entities, to raise people’s awareness,” he said.
Oliveira argues that in order to prevent fires “we have to look at the causes”, since fires are a consequence.
“It is necessary to assess rural areas. What matters is that forestry is managed. It is necessary to better manage vegetation”, he adds.
For Duarte da Costa, president of the Autoridade Nacional de Emergência e Proteção Civil (ANEPC, National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection), the suppression of fires “is never a solution”, and the objective is to bring suppression closer to prevention.
The loss of the ability to economically manage the landscape is, for Nuno Banza, president of the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF), “one of the biggest problems”.
“It is essential to create a dynamic economic landscape that becomes involved with the territory. But not for the entire territory, because there is a part that does not need to be managed, but rather protected. It is necessary to create value so that management of the territory not only has a cost, but also provides a financial return”.
In the afternoon, two panels took place, one on the subject of strengths and challenges based on decision-making, and a second on access to financing, in which participants had the opportunity to address questions and concerns to the speakers, sparking a fruitful debate.
The closing session was attended by the Minister of Territorial Cohesion, Ana Abrunhosa.
