Due to the rural exodus and subsequent decline in agricultural activities during the latter half of the 20th century, we now face a forest landscape unprecedented in our region since the Neolithic era. The expansion of forests is on the rise due to the retreat of human agrarian activities. Forecasts indicate that this trend is not only here to stay but will also become increasingly significant over time. Forest masses show no signs of halting their growth, poised to dominate the territorial landscape of the 21st century.
Alongside numerous other ramifications of this scenario (such as biodiversity loss, cultural erosion, economic chain fragility, and territorial fragmentation), fires—particularly Large Forest Fires (referred to as LFFs)—emerge as prominent agents tasked with managing the surplus of forest biomass, which, I emphasize, shows no signs of abating. With the current forest area and biomass per hectare reaching levels unseen for millennia, it’s evident that there’s a significant task ahead for managing these vast resources.
With the inclusion of global warming, the attempt to categorize LFFs falls short in defining a phenomenon that resists classification. Continuously escalating and defying conventional norms, it remains elusive and unbounded.. Hence, emergency services classify various generations of LFFs as catastrophic behavioral innovations, previously unknown until their emergence. In essence, these LFFs fill the void left by traditional stewards of the Mediterranean cultural landscape, precipitating escalating emergencies lasting for days. They endanger human lives and properties, emit substantial CO2 emissions, and defy control despite considerable investments in firefighting resources.
Therefore, despite little room for improvement in extinction systems, encompassing both means and technology, the peril of fires will persistently escalate. This rise is attributed not only to biomass accumulation but also to forest stress induced by climate change and excessive density. The notion of relying solely on fire extinction as the ultimate solution no longer holds any validity or practicality. We are confronting a constantly evolving phenomenon with antiquated tools, which not only prove ineffective in addressing the issue but are also exorbitantly costly. These methods predominantly rely on kerosene, leading to significant pollution. Moreover, they only intervene once the damage—environmental, social, and economic—is already inflicted, among other inherent drawbacks.
The crux of the matter is straightforward: the only effective approach is to be proactive and simply out, the most significant fire is the one prevented before it starts. Therefore, our focus should be on prevention rather than fleeting concern and regret once the fire breaks out.
We lack a robust, comprehensive, and long-term policy approach. I’m not making baseless claims when I assert that Valencian territorial policy since the transition can be succinctly characterized by the clash between extreme protectionism and rampant destruction, consistently favoring urban interests at the expense of rural areas. I refrain from taking a partisan stance on this matter, as it transcends political divides. It’s an issue that successive administrations of the Generalitat Valenciana have grappled with, where the de facto economic powers, often engaged in greenwashing, align with ultra-conservationists advocating for rewilding. A dipolar dialectic that appears, perhaps not coincidentally, to stifle the rural landscape and its society, posing a continual threat until there are no longer stewards overseeing agroforestry.
While anything seems permissible along the coast and in urban areas, we observe an excessive level of protection in the Valencian forest territory, with over 50% of it under such designation. I believe this approach is flawed, as this protection primarily manifests as a litany of prohibitions or management restrictions imposed upon landowners without their consent. It aims solely at perpetuating an unrealistic, bureaucratically entrenched (arguably despotic) and ecologically unsound theoretical statism. In essence, this approach undermines the very essence of the Mediterranean cultural landscape. All of this occurs without providing any added value to traditional agricultural stewards. Instead, it exacerbates depopulation and abandonment, as highlighted by the eminent Artur Aparici.
But it’s never too late. We need to open our eyes and take a proactive step towards reshaping the model of territory-society structuring. First and foremost, society, predominantly urbanized in today’s context, must embrace the new paradigm in which we find ourselves immersed. Once this paradigm shift is embraced (which, in my opinion, we are still far from), let’s actively seek solutions to this profound problem.
Full article (in Spanish) on the UPV Innovation website: https://innovacion.upv.es/es/mucho-hay-que-cambiar-para-luchar-contra-los-grandes-incendios-forestales/
Professor at Campus Gandia (UPV)
