Amid growing concerns about the recurrence of the fire scenarios witnessed in Algeria last summer, the government is working to raise its logistical capabilities and adopt proactive measures to avoid forest fires, while the Ministry of Interior announced on Saturday the arrest of two individuals accused of burning palm groves in the Ouargla province, resulting in the damage of more than 250 palm trees.

The ministry explained in a statement that "two individuals were caught and arrested in flagrante delicto while committing a criminal act represented by burning palm groves in the municipality of Ain El Beida in Ouargla province, causing the damage of more than 250 palm trees."

According to official government data, Algeria is exposed to a high risk of forest fires due to the current climatic conditions in the country accompanied by a heatwave, which may result in forest fires breaking out.

Concerns

Ismail Ibrahim, a member of the Environment and Agriculture Committee of the House of Representatives, told "Al-Sharq" that forest fires are considered one of the environmental disasters that threaten the decline of forest areas in the country, pointing out that the majority of village residents in the Algerian mountains rely on the forests as a food source for themselves and their livestock.

Ibrahim warned of the dangers of fires breaking out in agricultural lands, especially those designated for cereal cultivation, which may threaten the food security of Algerians, at a time when warnings about a grain shortage crisis have increased due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

For his part, Ait Oudiya Mubarak, the director of the environment in Tizi Ouzou province, which was considered the most affected area by forest fires last summer, said in a statement to "Al-Sharq" that Algeria is experiencing a loss of vegetation cover, which causes a decrease in the amount of oxygen and leads to a rise in temperatures, noting that "restoring the burned areas requires several years."

Mubarak pointed out that "global warming has caused an increase in the number of fires and their spread across the northern strip of Algeria, while they were previously limited to specific forest points in the country."

More than 100 people died in last summer's fires, and around 100,000 hectares of vegetation cover were destroyed (36% of which were fruit trees, 21% forests, and the rest bushes and thickets). The fires also led to the destruction of dozens of homes in villages and towns and killed hundreds of livestock and animals, according to official statistics.

Logistical Reinforcements

The Algerian authorities rely on a strategy based on raising alertness levels, early warning, and rapid intervention to avoid repeating last year's fire scenarios.

In this regard, Rachid Ben Abdallah, head of the Fire Prevention and Control Department at the General Directorate of Forests, told "Al-Sharq" that "preventive measures have been taken to confront fires and protect agricultural crops, by relying on thermal maps and wind direction, which allows the detection of areas threatened by fires, in addition to setting up an operational system consisting of 401 observation towers in major forests, along with the allocation of 513 mobile teams for guarding and rapid firefighting intervention."

According to Rachid: "3,291 water points have been prepared inside and outside the forests, in addition to preparing large water basins and firefighting helicopter stations near major forested areas, which allows rapid intervention by firefighting helicopters."

In this context, Algerian forestry services have worked on preparing the edges of forest paths, roads, high-voltage electricity paths, and railways to prevent fire ignition in the surrounding bushes, and 3,177 seasonal workers have been employed for guarding and initial intervention, chosen from the residents of villages surrounding the forests.

According to the Algerian Forest Directorate, Algeria intends to lease 6 firefighting aircraft for the months of July and August, which represent the most difficult periods in terms of forest fires.

Of the six leased aircraft, 4 have a capacity of 3,000 liters each, while each of the other two aircraft has a capacity of 6,000 liters.

Enhancing International Cooperation

Algeria seeks to establish a continental civilian unit for readiness and response to natural disasters in Africa, which was adopted by the heads of states and governments of the African Union during their extraordinary summit in Malabo last May.

Algeria pledged to fund the first meeting to establish this mechanism, which aims to create a continental civilian unit to assist disaster-stricken countries in a timely manner.

Forest cover in Algeria spans an area of (4.1 million hectares), representing about 2.3% of the country's area, consisting mostly of Aleppo pine, cork oak, and eucalyptus trees.