Today is the deadline for clearing forest land and non-compliant owners risk being fined, which can reach up to 5,000 euros for individuals and up to 25,000 euros for legal entities.
From that date, April 30, city councils can replace undergrowth landowners who are required to allow access to their land and pay council costs.
The National Federation of Forest Owners’ Associations (FNAPF) advocated an extension of the cleanup deadline from April 30 to mid-May, arguing that dry weather and fire warnings prevented the work.
Several municipalities hit by fires in recent years have said it is becoming increasingly difficult to meet deadlines for clearing land due to rising prices for this type of work, labor shortages and a lack of registration to identify owners.
The government did not take a decision to extend this deadline, as Secretary of State for Nature and Forests Joao Paulo Catarino gave a “positive assessment” of the efforts made by public and private organizations to clean up land and forests in the field of preventing rural fires.
In this regard, the National Republican Guard (NR) from Monday, May 1, starts the inspection phase of the forest cleanup, which has already identified almost 14,000 places at risk of non-compliance with mandatory land cleanup. .
According to the Integrated Rural Fire Management System, Decree-Law No. 82/2021, failure to comply with fuel management obligations, i.e. cutting plant and wood material in order to prevent the spread of fire, by cutting down weeds, bushes and trees in selected areas, is qualified as a serious offense .
Fines range from 500 to 5,000 euros for individuals and from 2,500 to 25,000 euros for legal entities.
In response to Lusa, the GNR indicated that the Floresta Segura 2023 campaign identified 13,949 sites at risk of non-compliance with mandatory land clearance by April 9, in order to minimize fire risks in priority areas, which by law must be done by April 30.
This year the number is higher than in 2022, when 10,989 risk sites were identified.
During the same period of the current year, 16 protocols of administrative offenses for burning and 58 for unauthorized burning of the remains were registered in the HP, while in 2022 there were 362 and 123, respectively.
This year, 34 people have been arrested for wildfires, compared to 72 for the whole of last year.
In terms of administrative offenses, in 2022, 4,359 fines were imposed for non-compliance with the forestland harvesting regime, according to the PNR.
Land owners are required to carry out fuel intake (clearing of vegetation) in a strip of at least 50 m wide around houses and other buildings located in rural areas, and in the case of settlements, campsites and industrial zones – this guard range extends up to 100 meters.
In March of this year, a list of 998 priority parishes was published that should be given priority for verification and compliance with applicable law (at https://dre.pt/dre/detalhe/despacho/3780-2023-210931890). ).
In the context of rural fires, the GNR emphasized that the protection of people and property is one of its strategic priorities, based on the prevention and increased patrols in forested areas.
“Given that most fires are caused by careless fire handling, GNR recommends that alternative methods of burning residues from exploitation (eg crushing and embedding) be used in agroforestry operations to reduce the risk of fire. fire,” he said.
GNR’s SOS Environment and Territory Line (808 200 520) is open at all times to report violations or clarify doubts.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.