Around 200 farmers and 41 livestock producers have been affected by the fire that broke out in Madeira, the regional government (PSD) said this Friday, adding that it will move forward with legislation to intervene on private land to prevent fires.
“We have two initiatives that were approved yesterday [quinta-feira, em Conselho do Governo Regional] and this is the first, which is the most important, related to the creation of an exceptional measure that will allow public entities to present territorial intervention projects in areas that are identified as priorities in terms of containing fires,” said the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Environment.
Rafaela Fernandes spoke at a press conference in Funchal, where she presented the “post-fire balance” in the areas covered by her secretariat, namely agriculture, livestock, environment and water, and explained the “strategy for future action”.
The fire, which broke out between 14 and 26 August, affected a total of 192 farmers for whom damage declarations had already been filed, including 102 in the parish of Serra de Água, 23 in the parish of Ribeira Brava (municipality of Ribeira Brava), 48 in Curral das Freiras and 19 in Jardim da Serra (municipality of Câmara de Lobos).
Among the support measures already taken by the regional government are food products for beekeeping, free supply of grain seeds and feed, technical assistance in the process of plant transplantation, supply of fruit seedlings, restoration of burnt haystacks and assistance in restoring burnt pipes.
In the livestock sector, the Regional Secretariat has identified 41 affected producers, including 266 cattle, 30 sheep and 77 goats, in need of food and veterinary support.
The death of 24 goats and one cattle was also recorded.
According to data released this Friday, the burnt area amounted to 5,116 hectares, of which only 0.9% (139 hectares) is laurel forest, which is a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site and covers a total of 15,000 hectares.
Of the 5,116 hectares of burnt area, 32% was shrubland, 16% was occupied by carqueha and broom, and 9.3% by eucalyptus.
The regional secretariat reported that the Institute of Forestry and Nature Conservation (IFCN) has nurseries containing about 200,000 plants, of which 88% are native and endemic species, which will later be used in the restoration of affected areas.
According to the IFCN, the fire did not reach the nests of the Madeiran nun, an endangered seabird that nests in the mountains between Pico do Areiro and Pico Ruivo.
On the other hand, there will be no charge for excess water consumption in the parishes of Serra de Água, Ribeira Brava, Jardim da Serra and Curral das Freiras, the ones most affected by the fire, and Águas e Residuos da Madeira will issue invoices based on previous averages.
The Secretariat of Agriculture, Fisheries and Environment clarified that only 14% of the total burned area is under public management, while the remaining 86% is private property, most of which has no identified owner, which justifies the approved draft regional legislative decree in the Regional Government Council for the creation of Integrated Territorial Intervention Projects (ITIP).
“Diploma […] is associated with the identification of property and interference with land that is privately owned. […]”which, out of respect for the constitutionally protected right to property, requires legal intervention,” explained Rafaela Fernandez.
The aim is to move forward with the creation of firebreaks, fire lines and re-cropping with public funding but under the responsibility of local organisations such as local authorities and associations.
“Naturally, this is an invitation for municipal councils to be able to solve small areas within their territories that are of fundamental importance from the point of view of civil protection, as well as for private enterprises that want to participate,” he explained.
Among other current laws that will soon be discussed in the regional parliament, the minister highlighted a diploma adapting to the region the decree-law of 2023 on the legal regime of the land registry, as well as a draft regional decree establishing the procedure for identifying and recognizing rural or mixed buildings with no known owner.
The rural fire on the island of Madeira broke out on August 14 in the mountains of the municipality of Ribeira Brava, gradually spreading to the municipalities of Câmara de Lobos, Ponta do Sol and Santana. On Monday, 13 days later, the regional civil protection department reported that the fire was “completely extinguished.”
According to the European Forest Fire Information System, the area of burnt land exceeds 5,104 hectares, although regional authorities reported 5,116 hectares.
As the fire raged, authorities ordered nearly 200 people to leave their homes as a precaution and set up community shelters, but many residents returned home.
Firefighting efforts were hampered by wind and high temperatures, but there were no reports of injuries or destruction of homes or important public infrastructure, according to the regional government, although some small-scale agricultural production and forested areas were damaged.
On Thursday, the SP said the fire was caused by rockets and that those responsible had already been identified, but regional government President Miguel Albuquerque initially said it was arson.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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