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Experts: Flood risk from this year's massive wildfires increases

2024-09-20 23:56:32Aktualitet SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Experts: Flood risk from this year's massive wildfires increases
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Forest experts and nature researchers say this year's massive wildfires in Albania are expected to increase the risk of flooding during the winter season. Wildfires considered the largest of the last decade have burned plant cover in many areas accelerating erosion and overflow of waters.

According to experts, local governments are showing major deficiencies in fire protection, forest management and emergency management. Drone footage in many areas of Albania shows the situation they left behind in forests and pastures this year's massive fires.

According to updated data from the European Forest Fire Information System, Albania has been covered since the beginning of this year by about 160 massive fires that have burned about 46,000 hectares of forest. The damage from this year's fires is the biggest in the past decade, says forest engineer Abdulla Diku.

"2024 results in the highest number of fires and also the largest area burned in Albania, a year that has surpassed nearly 3,000 hectares in 2017, which was held as the record year of fires. The first consequence albania is expected to face this year from this massive forest burning is the risk of flooding," says Mr. Diku.

"The first most negative element we currently face is the deforestation of steep slopes. The result of this is the immediate degradation of the land, the removal of the surface of the land from forest vegetation. These are the consequences felt in the Western Lowland part of Albania with flooding and massive erosion of agricultural land."

Natural science researcher Lulzim Shuka speaks about this year's massive fires impacted not only by global climate change, but also by albania's special conditions.

"The plant cover is very low the more so that the forest cover is even lower, therefore the soil does not retain moisture, the evaporation is many times greater and of course the summer season is extremely hot. This is due to fires and due to a plant cover collected over the years as a result of the lack of livestock grazing in many areas of the country."

The risk of flooding increases in some regions of the country as a result of damage to plant cover from fires, Shuka said.

"The lack of plant cover from fires causes waters to reach rivers faster and consequently to the sea which causes major flooding. This is also favored by uncontrolled urban development. We have occupied the river gorges with construction. For example, Gjirokastra was not in vain on the slopes of the mountain because of these floods."

Both nature researcher Shuka and forest engineer Somewhere talk about the immediate need, according to them, of the situation changing by local governments that manage forests.

"We need to take a different approach to nature and natural ecosystems. This is why seedlings must be planned. There is something specific that happens in Albania: in many areas of the country we have the hike of some coniferous species that can be exploited in the conditions of today's climate for new plantings. Also local governments should think about putting out fires by strengthening capacity with human resources and resources," says Shuka.

"Unfortunately, there is no shortage of capacity, there is a lack of organization. I want to remember that the last ten years the municipal administration has increased by 10 thousand workers, which means that we should have had more people on the ground to manage, to prevent, to reduce the negative impact of fires, but that is not happening," says Mr. Diku.

According to him, the technological equipment needed to detect fires in time is lacking. Also, fire fighting tools from simple pumps to motorized vehicles are lacking. The experts say, the training of staff who must be trained on the ground to put out fires.

"Above all I want to remember that in the Albanian forest service 75% of the employees are not forest specialists," says Mr. Diku.

The Albanian Ministry of Environment declared 2024 as the year of forests on the 101st anniversary of the Albanian forest service with a program that includes the increase of areas planted with forest seedlings. But planting rates are extremely low, with thousands of hectares being damaged every year. According to experts, they do not pass 100 hectares of new forest seedlings per year. A year ago a massive fire covered about 820 hectares in the Protected Zone of Poro Pine in Fier where about 365 hectares were pine trees which were completely burned.


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