In the matchboxes of several countries there are representations of birds – which unfortunately are also victims of forest fires.
A typical case that became public are dozens of storks that in the big fire of Attica due to the thick smoke and the helicopters were disoriented and fell on power lines.
Forest fires in our country are not a phenomenon of recent years.
The increase in the frequency of fires and in their intensity, due to the climate change, makes the situation today much more dangerous.
A forest fire has serious direct effects on animals, birds and plants, causing serious damage to agricultural income, human property and infrastructure, and –as we unfortunately see tragically many times– results in loss of human lives.
The destruction of thousands of acres of forests and forest areas creates huge losses in biodiversity. Animals, birds, insects, reptiles are burned alive because they have no room to move and no one organizes an evacuation for them to be saved. In addition, some who may be saved will soon face the specter of hunger and lack of shelter. Their food chain has been destroyed and it will take many years for it to return.
Rare or even more common plants that require a specific environment to grow can no longer survive and disappear. Greece, a country of biodiversity, is also losing this privilege.
Governments have so far shown a criminal lack of fire protection.
Given the climate change and the extreme weather phenomena that make forest fires very difficult to deal with, it is imperative to demand immediate fire protection measures with:
Preventive measures for forest protection (opening of roads, deforestation, installation of water reservoirs, etc.).
Recruitment of the necessary permanent staff in the fire and forest service.
Modernization, improvement and purchase of ground and air means of forest firefighting.
And it is definitely necessary to plan the protection of our forest ecosystems with specific projects.
The implementation of such a fire protection plan, which will not be based solely on evacuation of areas, of course requires the appropriate funding.