🌿 Session 3 in Alto Palancia: Rethinking Landscape and Wildfire Prevention 🌿
On March 25, 2025, the third session within the RESILIENT EUROPE project took place in Alto Palancia. The session brought together youth, local stakeholders, and experts to explore the vital connection between landscape, heritage, and fire prevention.
We kicked off with a presentation by Juan Antonio Pascual Aguilar from the Association for the Knowledge of Landscape (Centro para el Conocimiento del Paisaje https://cpaisaje.org/), who introduced the importance of dry stone walls and how changes in traditional Mediterranean landscapes have increased wildfire risks.
💬 Key Topics:
- Loss of landscape and heritage structures: Terraces and dry stone walls, their role in controlling erosion and building soil.
- Impact of vegetation and terrace changes: The removal of terraces accelerates water flow, increasing the risk of floods and wildfires.
- The role of the Mediterranean: Climatic conditions play a crucial role in the spread of wildfires.
🔍 Group Work: After that, the youth participants and other stakeholders were divided into four groups to analyse the ignition and spread causes of the wildfires. Youth named human activities, lightning, drought as the main causes of ignition and drought, fuel, wind, and abandonment as the main spread causes
📊 Facts & Reflections:
- In 2022, lightning caused 95.76% of the burned forest area.
- The Mediterranean Sea temperature plays a key role in fire intensity and behaviour.
- Restoration of landscapes and data-informed prevention strategies are crucial.
🔥 After the analysis, each group prepared a fire prevention proposal addressed to a local mayor.
💡 Youth-Proposed Solutions:
- Restore terraces and install small-scale irrigation systems.
- Create a Land Bank to revitalize unused land and prevent depopulation.
- Design fire-watch towers in key valleys and mountain points.
- Promote locally-based initiatives on biomass management. Offer training and job opportunities for unemployed people in fire prevention and biomass management.
🎥 Watch & Learn:
Gran Silencio – a compelling documentary on wildfire solutions. Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mf3bjlrCKsM
📄 Also worth reading:
Statement on the Management of Large Wildfires in Spain by Fundació Pau Costa. Available here: https://www.paucostafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Declaracio%CC%81n-sobre-la-gestio%CC%81n-de-los-grandes-incendios-forestales-en-espan%CC%83a_esp-1.pdf
👥 Final Takeaway:
Effective wildfire prevention requires local, integrated, and forward-looking strategies to combat wildfires and restore the balance of our landscapes. 🌱
ResilientEurope #ForestRecovery #FirePrevention #ActiveYouth #AltoPalancia #WildfireResilience #ErasmusPlus #AltoPalancia #ClimateAction #YouthInAction
