Wildfires: more fire or worse management?

Wildfires in Spain: more hectares burned or worse forest management?

Despite the perception that every summer more woodland burns, the data from the past decade showed a downward trend in hectares burned until last year, when the pattern broke. What explains the spike? The answer pits those who point to climate change against those who blame poor management and deliberate intent.

The data: are there more wildfires?

The long-term trend was clear: since the peaks of the 1990s, the burned area had been shrinking. Last year was exceptional and broke that line. But not all wildfires are the same: what burned in Almería was esparto grassland, a fire-adapted ecosystem that regenerates quickly. Those who downplay the problem point out that there are not more fires, just more media coverage.

The human factor: pyromania and economic interests

An uncomfortable fact: 90% of wildfires in Spain are deliberately set. Of those, roughly 20% are due to pyromania or economic interests. The rest stem from negligence, agricultural burning or revenge. Against an arsonist with a lighter, prevention only goes so far. But the debate does not stop there: questions are being raised about whether forest management is up to the task.

Management vs. climate: the bureaucratic tangle

Some argue the real problem is the lack of management: environmental laws fine village councils for clearing paths without authorization, and a third of Spain is left untouched, accumulating 60 million tonnes of flammable scrub. Meanwhile, the fashionable solution is to raise taxes and eat less meat to cool the sun. The irony does not hide the underlying issue: with a Spain piling up untouched fuel and deliberate fires going unchecked, the uncomfortable question remains whether the problem is the climate or the lack of will to manage the land.