According to the latest “Report on forest fires in Spain” from the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITECO) , so far this year, a total of 87 forest fires have occurred in our country, which have devastated a total of 66,064 hectares . A figure that, however, is lower than the previous year. And 2022 was a black year for Spanish forests: the worst year so far this century in terms of fires. This year, 786 thousand hectares burned in the European Union, according to year-end data from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) from satellites of the European Union's Earth Observation Program, Copernicus. 39% belonged to Spain, with almost 310 thousand hectares burned. The future outlook is not very hopeful, with the United Nations predicting an increase in forest fires of 30% by 2050 and 50% by the end of the century.
In this context, the correct management and maintenance of our country's forests is key to promote their health and, thereby, reduce the risk of fires. Year after year, Veolia improvement, conservation and naturalization work on forest masses, which helps prevent fires . These are controlled works focused on converting these ecosystems into forests that are resistant and resilient to fires, while carrying out sustainable and rational exploitation of the forests, helping to develop the local economy in rural areas.
All this is achieved in part through the practice of controlled thinning, which consists of a decrease in the density of trees per hectare, until the forest mass is adapted and optimized for naturalization. This practice helps improve the cover, ecological function and perpetuation of forests. Furthermore, in this way, planned areas with a lower load of plant fuel are created in which, if a fire breaks out, the advance of the fire can be better stopped and controlled and, thus, facilitate its extinction.
Through its subsidiary Veolia Biomasa , and in a firm commitment to ecological transformation and the circular economy, Veolia takes advantage of this biomass generated as a clean and environmentally responsible fuel. In this way, forest residues become new resources. Currently, the company is working with preventive work in different areas such as Font de la Figuera (Alicante), with 160 hectares; in various towns in the province of Albacete, with a total of 480 hectares; and in Sinarcas (Valencia), as well as in several public forests of City Councils through the Provincial Council of Valencia, in an action of more than 100 hectares.
As proof of Veolia Biomasa's commitment to sustainability and traceability for obtaining controlled biomass, as well as to guarantee that its origin meets the most demanding requirements in terms of Sustainability under the European Renewable Energy Directive, all biomass managed by the company is SURE certified . This is a voluntary certification system for the sustainability of this resource, developed by REDcert and Bioenergy Europe, which guarantees the sustainability and environmental responsibility of the more than 200,000 tons of biomass it manages per year, and allows its clients to compensate for the emissions derived from their production processes.
Cleaning the areas already burned, key to their recovery
In addition to prevention, the recovery of areas already damaged by fires is an essential task for our forest ecosystems since it allows us to accelerate their restoration. In this sense, Veolia is currently working in places such as the Sierra de la Culebra, in Zamora (where one of the most virulent fires occurred last year in our country), on an area of 500 hectares; in Serradilla del Llano, in Salamanca, with another 300 hectares affected and in Terrer y Moros, in the province of Zaragoza, in an area of 400 hectares.
Carrying out an immediate intervention to remove burned wood from forests affected by fires is essential for several reasons. Firstly, the proliferation of insect pests and possible diseases that appear as a result of fires is prevented and, in this way, the conservation of the forest mass that has not been affected by the flames is helped. On the other hand, acting quickly favors the regeneration of the ecosystem, since the late transit of machinery that could destroy seedlings is avoided once the forest has begun to regenerate. In addition, it avoids the risk of the appearance of chromatic fungi and insect pests that can lead to a loss of wood quality and, therefore, affect the value of the forests.
