Agência para a Gestão Integrada de Fogos Rurais, I.P.
Sumário: Portugal and Australia share many common issues in relation to wildfires in forest environments. Both have eucalypts and pines. Both countries are seeing increases in the extent and severity of wildfires due to the combination of Climate Change and high fuel loads brought about by the inappropriate use, or mismanagement, of the forested lands. The environment is changing, and land management needs to change if we wish to sustain our environment, economy, and wellbeing.
Both countries have made mistakes but also have good ideas and practices which we need to capture. Rotary Foundation’s Vocational Training Team aimed to provide a sharing of Australian and Portuguese experiences so both may benefit. There are, however, some significantly distinct factors affecting Portugal’s forest fire management:
- Legislation restricting prevention and suppression operations;
- Small land parcels and land abandonment which has created difficulties in prevention actions; and the
- Generally higher relative humidity and lower maximum wind speeds affecting forest fires.
This VTT project provided a good opportunity for the sharing of experiences and became a catalyst for discussion amongst and within entities that the VTT met during the visit to Portugal. These discussions should assist in making changes to existing systems to improve Portugal’s forest fire management.
The VTT members identified eight key items that appear to limit the efficiency and effectiveness of forest fire management in Portugal. Each contribute to larger than necessary areas being burnt by wildfires. These fires cause economic and environmental losses and potentially threaten the lives of more people.