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The year 2024 marked the greatest damage from forest fires in Albania and Kosovo

Politiko 2025-01-02 11:04:58

The year 2024 marked the greatest damage from forest fires in Albania and Kosovo

Climate change has made the Western Balkan countries even more vulnerable, especially to the decline in forest fires. The year 2024 marked the highest damage from forest fires in the last decade in Albania and Kosovo, according to data from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), which provides data on fires and burned areas from satellite monitoring.

According to EFFIS data, 168 fires were recorded in Albania this year, which burned 46,534 hectares, while 94 fires were recorded in Kosovo, which burned 12,079 hectares of forests and bushes. Albania had not recorded these figures since 2012, when 53,459 hectares were burned in different areas of the country by 149 fires, while Kosovo had not recorded these figures since 2007, when 22 fires were recorded, which burned 16,246 hectares of forests and pastures.

In the Western Balkan countries, the greatest damage from forest fires during 2024 was recorded in North Macedonia, where, according to the EFFIS system, 95,181 hectares were burned out of 131 fires recorded in total, while in Bosnia and Herzegovina 43,571 hectares were burned out of 178 fires, in Serbia 38,954 hectares out of 226 fires, and in Montenegro 23,544 hectares out of 135 fires.

Albania and North Macedonia have activated the European Civil Protection Mechanism several times this year with air interventions to extinguish fires that have been unable to be brought under control due to limited firefighting equipment and human resources. In some areas of southern Albania, in the Gjirokastra and Vlora regions, fires have threatened small villages that have been almost completely emptied in recent years due to the exodus of residents. According to emergency experts, the exodus of residents is making the situation more difficult as there is a lack of human resources to help extinguish the fires.

The Ministry of Tourism and Environment in Albania declared 2024 as the 'Year of Forests' in an effort to increase new forest areas and raise awareness for local governments and communities to do more to protect and enhance this asset. But in addition to the damage from this year's fires, forest experts estimate that the vast majority of municipalities that administer about 90% of the forest areas in the country have not presented investment programs for planting seedlings and regenerating forest areas damaged by massive fires.

A World Bank Climate and Development Report for the six Western Balkan countries, published in November this year, highlights the need for Balkan countries to invest in reducing the risks that global climate change is increasingly bringing. According to the Report, Albania needs to invest $6 billion over the next decade to more effectively protect citizens and property from the increasing risk of facing floods, forest fires, earthquakes and landslides, while Kosovo will need to invest about $2.8 billion over the next decade.

The World Bank Group's Climate and Development Report for Albania estimates that "about 95 percent of Albanian municipalities have been affected in the last two decades by these natural and climatic disasters, which have become more frequent and severe." While regarding Kosovo, the report states that currently, 36.8 percent of the country's total area is under medium risk from fires and 15.8 percent under high risk from fires. The country's mountainous areas are exposed to landslide risks, the report says./ VOA

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