Albania, fires continue to damage the economy and the environment

2024-08-29 21:14:00, Aktualitet CNA

The fires in forest areas and pastures have been going on for more than two months in a large part of the territory of Albania, causing considerable damage to the country's economy, but also to the environment.

Just today, on August 29, according to the data of the National Operational Center for Civil Emergencies, 29 fires were reported in the villages of 16 municipalities: Durrës, Kavajë, Tirana, Krujë, Rrogozhinë, Vlorë, Delvinë, Këlcyrë, Lezhë, Dibër, Tropoja, Has and Malësi e Madhe. Some fires continue to be active today in the mountainous area of ??the Municipality of Shkodra, Vau t Deja and Fushë Arres.

Albania does not have an archive of published data on fires and damage caused to forest areas during the last 30 years. But the European information system on forest fires provides a clear overview of these data starting from 2006, which prove that Albania is one of the countries in the region most affected by forest fires. According to him, during the 8 months of the year so far in Albania, 139 forest areas have been affected by fires where 40,514 hectares of forests have burned, or 1.41 percent of the entire forest area of ??the country.

The European Forest Fire Information System has started recording satellite data for Albania since 2006. According to the data recorded by it, the year 2024 ranks fifth for the largest number of fires and burned forest areas. The year 2007 holds the record with 163 fires and 127,491 hectares of burned forests. The years 2011, 2012 and 2017 are listed behind it. While the year 2014 marked the lowest number of fires, only 3, with a burned area of ??431 ha.

Thus, according to EFFIS, within the last 18 years, fires have affected 1,529 forest areas, burning 446,513 hectares of forest, a considerable amount for a small country like Albania. The most affected districts are that of Vlora, followed by the Districts of Shkodra, Lezha, Kukës, Gjirokastra and Dibra. Meanwhile, the counties least affected by forest fires are the County of Elbasan, followed by the County of Berat.

Due to the limited human and material capacities to cope with the situation, this year Albania twice activated the European Civil Protection Mechanism for support with specialized helicopters in extinguishing forest fires. Also, the forces and equipment of the army, supported by a "Cougar" helicopter of the Armed Forces, are also involved in extinguishing the fires.

The data provided by the European Forest Fire Information System, starting from 2006 onwards, reflect the degree of damage to this national asset, but also the inability and indifference of state structures to take preventive measures and strengthen capacities. human and material for the protection of this national asset, which continues to be damaged.

The phenomenon of forest fires has affected the entire Balkan region, causing significant damage to the economy of these countries, but also to the environment and tourism. Thus, after Greece, North Macedonia has the largest number of fires in forest areas, followed by Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro.

According to the data of the European Information System for Forest Fires, since 2006, 195,700 hectares of forests have burned in Kosovo. The most affected regions are Prizren and Gjakova, both border areas with Albania. According to this source, from 2006 onwards, 50,800 hectares of forests were burned in Prizren, while 47,600 hectares of forests were burned in Gjakovë.

The European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) has been operating since 1998 and supports the services responsible for forest fire protection in the countries of the European Union, but also neighboring countries, including Albania. It is a component of civil emergency management services in the EU's COPERNICUS program./ VOA