Europe's wildfires also driven by rural flight

It's not just drought and strong winds driving the catastrophic wildfires in southern Europe, fire expert Johann Goldammer says in an interview with DW.


Many people have lost all their belongings because of the fires. Will even more people leave their rural homes now?

Residents and firefighters in southern and southeastern Europe are in a desperate, often futile, battle against wildfires.

As is often the case, the catastrophic fires we're seeing now are being helped by high temperatures, extreme drought and strong winds. And some of that is down to extreme weather, which, according to scientists, climate change is bringing to areas that have been spared in the past.

But Johann Georg Goldammer says it's not just climate change that's raising the risk and threat of these fires.

Goldammer, an international fire expert who heads the Global Fire Monitoring Center, says rural flight has also done its damage. He says that with large numbers of young people leaving rural areas for cities in the Mediterranean, landscapes are changing as they get abandoned ­— often with grave consequences.

DW: There have always been wildfires in the Mediterranean. Why is rural flight increasing the risk of them now?

Johann Georg Goldammer: This exodus from rural areas in the Balkans, Greece and Turkey is an uninterrupted trend. Younger generations are moving to the cities to find work and a better quality of life. And as they move away, those rural areas are getting neglected and rundown, and bit by bit, the old towns are dying away.



Goldammer heads the Global Fire Monitoring Center

All that land used to be farmed, for instance. When it's left, it gets overgrown with grass, shrubs and bushes, trees and eventually turns into woodland. And that's more fuel for fires than we ever got from farmed landed.

So, if we want to do anything to stop the increasing threat of wildfires, then we'll have to focus our efforts on stopping rural flight in southern Europe.

Some countries have already reacted to the effects of rural flight by restructuring wooded areas. Some, for instance, are trying reforestation. Is that a good thing?

It depends on the type of reforestation. In Portugal, for example, they have planted fast-growing trees over vast areas, with the aim of supplying pulp and wood.

That can be exotics, such as pine and eucalyptus trees. Those are high-risk trees because they burn more easily than olive groves or cork oaks that may have been there before. They are cared for intensively and there was usually very little fuel for the fires in between the olive or oak trees.

When it was very hot, animals would take cover in the shade of the trees and at the same time graze on the ground, keeping it free of leaves or grass that might otherwise burn.

And, right now, we are seeing massive fires on the Iberian peninsula, where previously there weren't any, and it's because of these eucalyptus and pine plantations.

Pine and eucalyptus trees burn easily and wildfires in huge plantations are hard to control

In Turkey, a lot of the fires now are in pine plantations. Those wildfires are very hard to control or stop because they burn very intensively. When there's strong, dry wind, it is virtually impossible to stop them.

Aside from these monocultures, there's another approach, where people want to let forests grow as undisturbed as possible. Aren't these "natural" woodlands more resilient against extreme weather and fire?

There's a high level of diversity of vegetation and insect species in undisturbed woodlands, but also a lot of deadwood.

Those woodlands can be extremely vulnerable if there's a heatwave or a fire.

If we want these woodlands to be less at risk of fire, we have to start cultivating them so that there is less fuel for the fires. That will make it easier to control fires. And that's largely possible through agricultural farming and ranching, including controlled grazing.

Granted, that gives us less plant-based biomass, perhaps even less biodiversity than in a species-rich ancient, mixed woodland.

But, for that, these woodlands are more resilient against stress factors, such as fire, drought and storms.

Extreme weather events aren't exclusive to the Mediterranean. We're seeing extreme weather through climate change in many other regions as well. How should we adapt to the new reality?

Well, we've just had heavy rainfall and floods in Germany. On top of that, we're seeing extreme wind events, including tornadoes that we've never had before, and long dry-spells and fire.

All that is having an impact on forests and woodland. We're just going to have to free ourselves of this image of forests as being areas where things grow in a measured and balanced climate and where these extremes hardly ever happen.

We need to make it a priority to turn these areas over to the kind of agricultural farming that will increase a woodland's resilience against drought, strong winds and heavy rainfall.

Save what's left to save. The fires will worsen things for people in structurally weak regions.

So, if we're heading for those climate conditions, such as the ones we're seeing in the Mediterranean or in the subtropics, then we're going to have to take a look at their forests and woodlands.

What do they look like? Are they as dense and rich and high in biomass as our spruces, firs and beechwood? No. They are often open woodlands with very few trees per unit area.

That means that each tree has more ground and water to feed on, and their roots grow deeper. That kind of stability is very important in dry spells and strong winds. Forest pastures can help maintain these stable, "light" woods and reduce fuel for fire.

But it's not only underdeveloped countries that lack the financial means or even the sociopolitical will to adapt to the new realities.

I agree. We're all going through a collective process of learning how to deal with climate change. The whole world, but especially in southern and southeast Europe, those old cultural landscapes are going through a process of change. And a lot of that has to do with the way land is used. That is what's leading to these dangerous and destructive fires.

It is, however, incredibly difficult to get it through to the expedient, fast-paced world of politics that we need long-term solutions. Quickly buying in new technology, like fire engines or water-bomber planes, is so much easier and attractive to politics.

Prof. Dr. Johann Georg Goldammer is a fire ecologist. His research group is part of the Forest Science Faculty at the University of Freiburg and the United Nations University. He is a senior scientist at the Max Planck Society for Chemistry, Biogeochemistry and heads the UN's Global Fire Monitoring Center.

This interview was adapted from German and conducted by Alexander Freund.

THE WORLD IS BURNING

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Greece: PM apologizes amid 'unprecedented' wildfires

As wildfires on Greece's Evia island continued to rage, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has promised compensation amid criticism of the state's handling of the disaster.

Some 650 firefighters have so far been deployed on the island of Evia, according to Greek officials

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis apologized on Monday amid a backlash against his government's response to the country's devastating wildfires.

Hit by its worst heatwave in decades, Greece has struggled to contain the hundreds of wildfires that have burnt to a cinder pristine pine forests, forcing thousands to flee.

Firefighters were still battling into the night on Monday a massive blaze on Greece's second-largest island, Evia, for the seventh consecutive day.

VIDEO Greek island fire 'unprecedented' disaster

What did Mitsotakis say?

In a televised address, the prime minister said the destruction in Evia and elsewhere "blackens everyone's hearts" and pledged compensation for those affected.

He announced a supplemental budget of €500 million ($587 million) to fund rebuilding, reforesting and compensation.

Mitsotakis also apologized for "any shortcomings" in the state response, vowing to hold those responsible to account.

"I fully understand the pain of our fellow citizens who saw their homes or property burned," Mitsotakis said. "Any failures will be identified. And responsibility will be assigned wherever necessary."

Several mayors had criticized a lack of aerial support in fighting the fires, despite the government's assurances of having set aside ample resources earlier this year.

"We may have done what was humanly possible, but in many cases it was not enough," Mitsotakis said in response. "We are dealing with a natural disaster of unprecedented dimensions."

Watch video03:25 Can Greece reforest and rebuild? Prof. Costas Synolakis speaks to DW

What is happening in Evia?

The fire raging in Evia since August 3 has been the most severe of the hundreds witnessed across Greece this month.

Residents of the island's northern village of Kamatriades joined emergency crews on Monday to form a human chain as a wall of flames approached their homes.

"Villages are evacuated, but those who can help stay behind," central Greece governor, Fanis Spanos, told state news agency ANA. "Without them, many villages would have burned," Spanos said.

Their work on the ground is necessary at night as firefighting aircraft cannot fly in the dark.

Many of the helpers were armed only with twigs to beat out the approaching flames

Authorities had earlier ordered the evacuation of the nearby village of Avgaria. However, many residents remained determined to stay and defend their homes.

Hundreds of people lost their homes in Evia, greater Athens and other parts of Greece due to the wildfires.

Many of the fires across Greece have stabilized or receded by Monday, but Evia's rugged, forested landscape and wind have helped the blazes rage on the island.

Watch video02:29 Evia island evacuated as Greece fires rage

What help is Greece receiving?

Greek authorities said EU member states and other countries have so far sent 21 aircraft, 250 vehicles and over 1,200 firefighters. The aid is set to arrive in the coming days.

PM Mitsotakis said he discussed the delivery of an additional giant BE-200 water bomber with his Russian counterpart Mikhail Mishustin.

Israel and Greece's longtime rival Turkey also pledged firefighting aircraft.

At least 56,655 hectares (140,000 acres) were burnt in Greece from July 29 to August 7, according to the European Forest Fire Information System.

Wildfires ravage Athens' 'green lung,' fueling anger and despair

Greece has managed to partially contain wildfires that raged for days in the Athens suburbs. What remains are burned forests, thousands of people without homes and a government without a plan. DW's Barbara Wesel reports.

Residents and volunteers pitched in to help fight the flames on a hill in the Mount Parnitha national park


The hill near Mount Parnitha outside Athens, a national park and the capital's green lung, has been Irini's home for decades. This is where she grew up and where she wants to stay. As the wildfires drew ever closer in recent days, police brought the residents to safety. But a day later, Irini is back, trudging slowly but doggedly up the street with her walker.

"Tell the firefighters to throw water on my house; I want to go back," she pleads. Police officers come and try to take her away. "No, I'm not leaving here; I live here," the old lady says defiantly.

Irini, who has lived in the Mount Parnitha national park all her life, refuses to leave

The younger residents, meanwhile, have taken matters into their own hands as they fight to save their homes and forests. Hundreds of volunteers are trying to help with the firefighting efforts.

One group has managed to get hold of an old truck with a pump from a farmer. Ten men drag a large hose up the slope; the first flames are already leaping up the back of it. The residents are driven by a courage born of despair. They are aware that if they don't manage to put out the fires in this small patch of forest, the flames will soon race towards their houses.

At the end of the road, there is a clear view of the former royal gardens of Tatoi. "That was a paradise, with rare trees, peacocks and game," one ash-smeared resident says, "and look at it now. It's like a moonscape. Everything is burned."

Meanwhile, Jorgos and other neighbors are using picks and shovels to try to prevent the fires from flaring up again. Once the fire has raged across the forest, the hot ground reignites again and tree stumps can smolder for weeks. All it takes is one gust of wind for the fires to restart.

Government faces backlash

"The whole area here is burning down! We have lost the best part of Athens. We grew up here, and it hurts us so much to see this," Jorgos says.

Like the other residents, he is angry at the government. Everyone had known for years that the fires were getting more and more severe, he said. "Why are there so few firefighters and fire trucks and only two firefighting planes?" Jorgos says.

Nelli, from the neighboring village of Krioneri, agrees. "All the government does is appear on TV, all spiffed up and polished, and tell us that it's a great success that we don't all die in the fires," he says. "They should have hired firefighters instead of thousands of new police officers."

Indeed, the evacuation of the affected areas is the only thing that has worked well in recent days. In 2018, a catastrophic fire in the Athens suburb of Mati killed more than 100 people. This time, the authorities at least had a plan for getting residents to safety.

Sweltering weather and strong winds have helped drive the wildfires close to Athens

But the same can't be said of the firefighting effort. It took days for the army to be called in to help. The operation was hobbled by outdated fire trucks and an overall lack of equipment.

"We haven't slept in three days. It's like a war; we're beat, but we keep going. You can't just watch this," an exhausted firefighter says. The fire was fueled by a number of factors. First it was temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), then strong winds that fanned the fire even across the closed Highway 1 heading north. The highway was supposed to prevent the fire from spreading to other parts of the city.

By the end of last week, help had arrived from the rest of Europe to bolster firefighting efforts. The aid included a few water-bombing planes, vehicles and firefighters from France, Bulgaria, Slovakia and other countries.

Around Mount Parnithos, Cypriots are helping local forces. ”The situation is really difficult," Dimitris Katzivlis, head of the operation, says. "It's tragic! We are helping our Greek colleagues here, but it is worse than we expected."

The highway failed to act as a firebreak

An economic and environmental blow

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is under pressure and is trying to reassure citizens. Everything will be done to compensate the victims of the fires, he has said. But his government faces an uphill task.

A devastating fire on the island of Euboea off Athens has hit hundreds of farmers hard, destroying their livelihoods. The farmers are furious and feel let down because they say the government is focusing scarce resources on the capital, leaving the island to burn down.

But in the suburbs around Athens, too, many have lost everything. They are now waiting in reception camps for the promised aid from the government.

The wildfires come at a time when Greece faces a precarious economic situation. The country had just recovered from the aftermath of the financial crisis when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. And now, just as tourism was limping back to business, the fires have dealt another blow to the economy.

The government can request emergency aid for natural disasters from Brussels. Beyond that, however, the billions from the coronavirus recovery fund may be the only salvation. These funds are supposed to be used, in particular, for the ecological transition of member countries.

But Greece has so far failed to outline an overarching plan to move towards a greener future. There is a lack of environmental awareness, and the country has no "green" party in parliament. Electricity producers have already warned that energy prices will rise by 15% in September. Some 2,000 power poles have burned down and parts of the grid have been destroyed. An old coal-fired power plant had to be restarted to meet demand. Greece, which receives abundant sunshine, is also a laggard when it comes to renewable energies.

Mitsotakis has promised that "the forest that burned down outside Athens will be replanted." But that's far from easy.

The evacuations were the only thing that worked well

"This here was original, pristine forest," Dimitri, a resident who is standing in the ashes near Mount Parnitha with his shovel, says. You can't just replant it like that, he says, and it will take at least 20 years for the trees to grow back.

Next winter, he says, the next disaster is already lined up, when rains wash the bare soil from the hills, triggering landslides that could sweep the remnants of the forest down into the valley.

The fires are an environmental disaster to which the country currently has no political answers.

This article has been translated from German.

 fb/jsi (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)