The Liberal Initiative (IL) party has issued a statement highlighting the devastating wildfires in Portugal, which they claim have once again exposed the chronic weaknesses in the country’s forestry policies and civil protection.
“This is the paradox of fire: fewer ignitions but more fuel accumulation over years without active management, ready to burn in increasingly violent disasters,” it reads.
The IL asserts that, in this scenario, “the Government has merely responded with palliatives,” referring to the measures approved during an extraordinary Council of Ministers meeting in Viseu this Thursday.
“After the calamity, [the Government] announces support, but fails to work proactively to prevent the disaster. Since taking office, there has been enough time to start correcting decades of delays, but it has failed,” IL accuses.
According to the party, “investment in prevention remains insufficient, civil protection is still a haven for ‘boys’, and responsible entities, such as the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF) and the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), remain bogged down in bureaucracy and obstacles.”
“Even worse: when given the chance to support structural solutions, the Government voted against it,” criticizes the party, pointing out that in July, the PSD rejected the Simplified Forest Code proposed by IL and dismissed another proposal by the party that included a reform of the APA and ICNF to eliminate “overlaps and inefficiencies.”
“The costs of these choices are expensive for the Portuguese,” IL contends.
The IL advocates for a forest that is economically valued, “with completed registration, consolidated properties, economic incentives for cleaning, and compensation for ecosystem services.”
The party also supports active fuel management, “with systematic use of controlled burns in strategic areas,” and a “sustainable recovery of burnt areas,” creating “forest mosaics that balance economic profitability with biodiversity.”
At the institutional level, IL proposes merging and digitizing the APA and ICNF, “with fast, transparent processes and binding deadlines,” in addition to calling for “more prevention and less bureaucracy.”
The party argues that Portugal “does not need more promises or postponed plans,” but rather action.
“While the Government gets lost in propaganda and administrative blockages, the country remains vulnerable to increasingly violent fires,” IL asserts, emphasizing that only a valued forest, reformed institutions, and prevention and recovery policies will “break the cycle of tragedy that annually threatens lives, communities, and the future” of the territory.
Continental Portugal has been affected by multiple large-scale rural fires since July, especially in the North and Central regions.
The fires have resulted in three deaths, including a firefighter, with several others injured, some seriously. They have also completely or partially destroyed primary and secondary residences, as well as agricultural and livestock holdings and forest areas.
