The Guarda Nacional Republicana has identified 10,417 plots of land that may violate fuel management regulations in the context of the Safe Forest 2025 campaign, aimed at preventing wildfires, between February 16 and April 30, according to the security force’s communications division.
Fuel management seeks to reduce plant material and wood to hinder fire spread and intensity around homes and settlements in rural areas. Most notifications occurred in the districts of Leiria (2,606), Bragança (1,162), Santarém (941), Coimbra (818), and Viseu (798).
The districts with the fewest marked plots are Évora (51), Portalegre (57), Guarda (209), Beja and Porto (232), and the list continues with Lisbon (259), Faro (260), Vila Real (280), Setúbal (360), Viana do Castelo (379), Aveiro (464), Braga (652), and Castelo Branco (657).
The GNR noted, however, “that the deadline for carrying out fuel management work has been extended until May 31,” and that “the inspection period is expected to begin after that date.”
Already, the provisional figure of 10,417 marked plots this year surpasses the 10,256 recorded by May 31 of last year, yet remains below the numbers from previous years: 14,319 in 2023, 10,989 in 2022, 14,545 in 2021, 24,227 in 2020, and 31,582 in 2019, as previously disclosed by the GNR.
According to Ricardo Vaz Alves, director of the GNR’s Nature and Environment Protection Service (Sepna), the “number of identifications aligns with last year’s” statistics. In light of the approximate 14,000 IDs in prior years, he believes there has been “societal growth in awareness regarding fuel management.”
“There has been a comprehensive awareness campaign, yielding results in fuel management work,” the official remarked in a statement to Lusa.
“We clearly noticed a greater effort by citizens to regularize all potentially non-compliant situations. Furthermore, considering both the rainfall and the dearth of available service providers in the market,” he added.
The Sepna director reiterated the GNR’s objective “to always raise awareness and strive to correct potentially non-compliant situations.” Only as a last resort would authorities “issue fines for lack of fuel management,” after “notifying, speaking with owners, and even neighbors” to ensure the “message is received, and corrections made.”
“We attempt a case-by-case analysis for each identified issue, providing some leniency given the shortage of market providers, particularly as we approach hotter seasons,” Vaz Alves emphasized.
Last year, despite 10,256 identifications, “2,233 fines were issued for lack of fuel management and 3,028 for other violations,” with a trend pointing to fewer fines for lack of fuel management compared to the 2,577 in 2023, 2,271 in 2022, and 3,176 in 2021.
“The purpose of these preventive actions is always to alter potentially non-compliant cases, thereby aiming at resolving highlighted issues. Each case will receive individual attention considering challenges faced by property owners,” stated GNR spokesperson Carlos Canatário.
While fuel management currently stresses awareness, between the Safe Forest Campaign’s inception and May 18, GNR recorded 36 fines for illegal burnings and 100 for unauthorized fireside burnings.
Regarding wildfire prevention and investigation by May 18, GNR reported the arrest of 19 individuals and the identification of 186 people for alleged forest fire crimes.
“Our continuous commitment involves working with communities primarily to discourage fire usage and encourage alternative methods. For instance, this includes biotriturating, soil incorporation of residuals, or collection by specialized companies,” noted Ricardo Vaz Alves.
The Sepna director urged “landowners, tenants, or usufructuaries of lands adjacent to rural areas” to manage fuel levels and avoid burning residuals by choosing “alternative methods,” which are invariably more effective “in terms of prevention.”
