OPINION | Ecologist Action – Agró
The different positions of the current PP-VOX government have a lot of value in blaming the current fires on the past actions of the Botanic governments. If we look for deficiencies and errors in fire prevention strategies, we must start by looking more rainy. Much of the problem derives from the proposals of the ancient ICONA (responsible for state forestry management during the Franco regime and the first years of the transition), whose competencies will be transferred to the Valencian autonomous government in 1985.
(In an attachment, but not to make the communication longer, we provide information so that interested journalists can expand and enclose more information, something to which we invite them).
These facts, in addition to their assessments and evaluations of previous governments, which are inappropriate and do not respond to the slightest rational analysis, different high-ranking officials of the Generalitat have reacted in a deficient manner to the reprisal that the fires in their countries were aware of.
For example, one of the first actions has been to suspend the authorizations for the supposedly "controlled" creams, which have only been totally controlled, and yet they have caused hundreds of fires to the darrers anys, including some of molt greus. This measure is necessary because it is in a context in which the term “safe period” does not exist. Now it will be more urgent each time, with the climate change, which has badly needed to stay, and only it can be mitigated if more valuable measures are adopted than the current ones, including taking better care of the forests, protecting them and keep-them. There are no excess forests, there is no excess natural vegetation. On the contrary, every day we need it more. But most of the fires, we can avoid and the Generalitat is NOT in the line of avoiding them. The idea of "preventing" penises begins to act on the causes and is to spend most of the diners on things that do not prevent fires.
The measure adopted regarding creams cannot be improvised, as it evidently has been, in a shameless manner, and applied over the long term, without having a well-thought-out and prepared alternative. It is not possible to prohibit creams (correct and necessary measure) without tindre (or enllestir-la in a cold weather) a viable, sustainable alternative that is not burdensome either for farmers or for municipalities. This alternative, the crushing of agricultural remains, is perfectly possible, but it is clear that the Minister of the Interior has neither thought of it nor known it, but it is a realistic possibility that has no negative counterpart and many economic benefits. social and environmental. The previous Botanic governments are going to take the first steps, but insufficiently, in this direction. It is recorded in official documents, studied in technical reports and applied, and is intended to continue experimentally, in different cases (see note 1, at the end of the communication). Since it is implemented in a generalized manner (three exceptions are justified and controlled), that the organization and economic disasters follow the control of the Generalitat and that it includes, with an urgent modification of the local prevention plans and Implement it in a participatory manner, accompanying all affected sectors, to adjust the specific details to each municipality. If this is not the case, suppressing the creams will cause problems and will not be able to be maintained.
Unfortunately, as far as it has been seen, the Generalitat has not made it clear to urgently advance in basing the alternative of crushing the remains, nor in deepening and reinforcing the measures of veritable prevention. In a very "timely" manner, the Department of Justice has endeavored to publish some extraordinary investments (8 million euros) in the totally opposite line to which it intended to adopt, insisting on the usual errors. The Generalitat has announced large investments in a series of measures that it presents as "prevention" of fires, but in reality they do not avoid cap foc. It is about all measures for the elimination of natural forest vegetation, such as "tallafocs" and other forms of discontinuities that only in some cases "can" serve for other things, but one of them serves, in a way, per avoid even a burning sun.
They will not prevent the fires, so they do not act on the human causes of the fires. Per tant, they have no aprés res. If there is any doubt, the investments that are announced are neither for implementing the crushing of agricultural waste nor for other measures of veritable prevention (compared to the revision of electrical lines, better regulation of activities and installations and infrastructures of risc, etc.). Nor are they intended to expand and improve surveillance, deterrence, or immediate detection. Therefore, we will continue as we are, each time it will be worse, because the climate change will make it more likely that accidents and negligence will turn into fires, and once the fire will become ill and out of control, it will be more difficult to put out each time. It is possible to have large “tallafocs” with soccer camps. The focus will be thrown or traversed at high speeds by the grass that will inevitably sprout, when the conditions remain unfavorable (something more and more likely). Therefore, we will have big fires once again. But we already know: the administration is reluctant to learn from the errors and the evidence that contributes to the facts and the real facts. Sense attacking the causes, addressing the consequences once more. Fins quan?
(Note 1) The alternative to creams (shredding) exists, very clearly, and is included in the 2017 Valencian Forest Fire Prevention Strategy, which includes a project to shred agricultural remains in the area of the Parcs Naturals is intended to expand in the future to all forest areas, also studying financial aspects (Line 1, measures 5 to 7).
The subsequent Mosaic Strategy, from 2022 included in section 5, dedicated to the Actions to be adopted, "the impulses of alternatives to the creation of agricultural remains in the zone of forest influence", an action that appears in the document as "in execution."
Therefore, it is urgent that the "new" administration recover documents, reports, projects and experiences and update them and present them in the most efficient manner, in a planned and orderly manner. In more ancient times, in 2011, with a PP government, the Department of Agriculture will publish (but it seems that it may not be complete) a report entrusted to the Official Col·legi d'Enginyers Agrònoms of the CV in the that they be studied, by region and type of conreu, the volume and other characteristics of the production of agricultural remains, valuable to obtain pellets for boilers (for which thing they have to be folded and crushed beforehand, and not cremated -les to the camp).
CLARIFICATION ADJUNT
After the transfer of competencies from the extinct ICONA (1985), the administrative change will not entail a change of personnel, mainly of a single professional team (forestry engineers) in the field of fires and in management issues. forest; When it is time that many social and scientific sectors demand a multidisciplinary nature, that is to say, more diversity of specialties. The most important thing is that they are not going to change, in essence, neither the objectives, nor the strategies, nor the forms of action hereditas.
The most notable attempt to renew forestry policy comes from one of the PSOE governments, and moreover, mainly, from Minister A. Escarré, the only great professional and expert researcher in forest ecology who has occupied the position. of environmental councilor who will promote innovative lines, but who will see his old trajectory, by an enormous and unfortunate political and media pressure based on things that do not have the same professionalism and good management.
Thanks to this, the CEAM (created in 1991), a leading scientific research center on an international scale, will be promoted to address, in the applied research of atmospheric dynamics, pollution and forest management. Center that survived in unworthy conditions, due to lack of budgets and consideration on the part of the administration. Also in those years the Valencian Forestry Law (1993) was promoted, which will suppose other impulses for renewal and that, subsequently, in different governments of the PP, it will employ non-democratic and transparent mechanisms (with the law of accompaniment of pressuposts of each any) has been reduced and decaffeinated. A law that will be the response to a citizen mobilization promoted by the Save the Forest Platform, of which Acció Ecologista-Agró and other collectives from all over the Valencian territory are part. The law was not as good as the environmentalists wanted it to be, but the details, names and justification, of the PP, have undermined it.
Also the first natural parks, including those that safeguard some of the most valuable forest areas will be promoted by pre-PP governments, which will declare the first 10 and will allocate the funds for the protection of the majority of the others.
It will also be the responsibility of the PP to govern, which will draft the first Reforestation Plan and the White Book of Forest Management of the CV. Documents that can be discussed and appreciated, but that have provided a basis for advancing towards more sustainable forestry management than the current one.
During the 20 years of PP governments, after the approval of the forestry law (1995-2015) there has been little progress in developing the mechanisms provided for by the law, resulting in an enormous delay in the drafting of the fire prevention plans ( PPIF) of Demarcació i locals (PPLIF), which recently, during the passes of the botanical governments, will experience great momentum. Això has led to the fact that they currently consider almost all completions or many advances, unfortunately the continguts faced are very continuous and debatable, especially in the allocation of the budgets and in the deficit in the authentic prevention, in the exact sense of the paraula .
Something similar has happened with the forest management plans (PORN) of demarcation that are almost completely finished and precisely the most recent, drafted during the Botanic governments, they are the most rigorous and well scientifically founded.
Malauradament, incendis n'hem tingut molts to our territory, but the most greus the hem patit fa temps, especially the 70-80s, and especially in 1994, in which it is going to record the most black in matters of incendis . Something that the PP will know how to employ politically for its own benefit, and that will surely help the political change in 1995, together with the great environmental mistake made by the PSOE, in participating in an ecologically aggressive traçat of the highway to Madrid (which the PP will have the intelligence to modify).
But, in any case, the situation that will lead to the 1994 disaster, which has been analyzed in ecology books, will be exceptional (but may not be so in the near future) and will be considered by experts as a global problem that will affect Greument does not cover the entire European Mediterranean (Spain, Italy, Greece...) but also the USA, Australia and other parts of the world.
More recently (and the PP governs), in 2012, we have seen the largest (per extensions created) from 1994 to the present, cremant-se almost 56.000 ha. The person responsible for the termination at that time, Serafin Castellano, Minister of Government, will be dismissed in 2015 (when he was a Government Delegate) due to his relationship with a corrupt plot that brought benefits in the irregular contracting of defective planes. to extinguish fires. (El judici encara està pendent, previst pel setembre d'enguany).
Therefore, the PP-VOX government has little reason to blame the Botànic for a forestry management that, as it was in its hands, can hardly be said to be better.
Currently, we have some teams and some Extinction strategies that are highly effective, resulting in many millions of dollars and increased resources (by governments of different colors) and some human teams that have acted many times in a heroic manner , due to the economic and labor deficiencies that they suffer, and that they face in order to need millions and more resources, as are demanded by the affected unions.
But according to the Prevenció, the effectiveness of which is measured in the name of fires, as I will say that the annual name of fires, of interannual mitjana, has not increased (we cannot consider one or a few anys aïllats, but the whole, and compare reasonably long periods). This name continues to be basically the same as in the 70s and 80s, when reliable forest fire statistics began. There continue to be, in general, a little more than 400 mitjana fires annually.
If we simplify the analysis, reaching the level of demagogy of the current government, we could say that, in reality, the greatest results regarding the name of the fires have been assolitized during the Botanic. Since we have reliable statistics, starting from the year 70 of the Passat Segle, there have only been 6 years with less than 300 fires, 2 will be the years 1976 and 1977, the other 4, consecutively, will be from 2019 to 2022. These four units to the four previous ones, and coinciding with the 8 years of Botanic governments, constitute the only period of 8 consecutive years, per sota of 400 annual fires. Açò no ha passat mai, abans. Only a few scattered ones, the longest, four consecutive years, from 1985 to 1988. The PP did not govern either.
But if we want to be more serious, we will not attribute to a political factor purposes that do not have a better temporal perspective and better documentation. In all cases, I will say that the immediately previous governments that are failing in environmental and natural matters is a demagic and unfounded nonsense, although, for the moment, I have a complete track record and the results of the part that makes the statements. So much so that this government, or whoever else, will show one day, both the fets, that things are better for them. We will be the first to applaud.
