Digitisation, an ally in fighting forest fires
The case of Spain
Today’s Spain is no longer entirely covered in forest. At school, we were told that there were so many trees on the Iberian Peninsula that a squirrel could cross from Tarifa to the Picos de Europa by jumping from branch to branch without touching the ground.
Despite human impact, we are still the second largest forest area in Europe—surpassed only by Sweden—with 56% of the territory covered by forests. However, we are also one of the European countries most at risk of desertification. Paradoxically, the forest area continues to increase, partly due to the abandonment of rural areas.
Extreme heat, climate change and human activity are putting our terrestrial biodiversity at risk. This summer, we witnessed the virulence of fire, which devoured more than 400,000 hectares of one of our most precious assets.
Many of you will remember the awareness campaigns for the prevention of forest fires which, under the slogan ‘All against fire’, appeared in the media at the beginning of summer.
A particularly alarming fact is that the vast majority of forest fires in Spain are caused by humans, either intentionally or through negligence, and not by natural phenomena such as lightning or other environmental factors.
We learn lessons from every fire. We often hear that ‘fires are extinguished in winter’, but what is clear is that we must improve prevention and extinction policies to prevent tragedies such as those of this summer from happening again. I heard Pepa Bueno on TVE’s Telediario news programme point out that, despite the fact that our forests cover approximately 56% of the national territory, we allocate only 0.4% of total public spending to prevention and extinction.
While searching for information on forest fires, I came across a publication that opens up new avenues of hope in prevention, early detection and extinction: technological innovation. Those of you who follow me know that I am fascinated by the transformative power of ICT and digital tools. This is another example of how we can harness the best of technology to protect our forests, as a drones.
Suddenly, my imagination began to run wild and I thought of robot firefighters in action.
We are moving towards smart prevention, in line with the Spanish Government’s Plan for the Prevention and Control of Forest Fires, which emphasises the need for a model based on anticipation, permanent surveillance and the intensive use of digital solutions. All this is accompanied by coordinated collaboration between governments, businesses and citizens to establish more sustainable policies.
Environmental education and public awareness
Without forgetting a fundamental aspect: environmental education and public awareness. We are all responsible for the stewardship of our territory and we must do our utmost to protect it. Our forests provide us with the oxygen we breathe; we have a vital responsibility to care for them, as well as for the rural environment and our villages, where the people who care for the forests and rivers and provide us with food live.
Let’s take care of our forests and be aware of the fragility of our planet. Some damage is irreversible. In the meantime, let’s move forward and take advantage of our digital allies.
