Education, investment and cooperation cost a lot less than letting wildfires burn.
Tirana Times editorial
TIRANA, Sep. 6 – While authorities are looking for villains who set fires on purpose and the opposition accuses the government of not investing any money in firefighting equipment, the issue of civic education when it comes to preventing and fighting fires is being completely ignored.
These wildfires are neither new nor unique to Albania. You put together a heat wave, combined with a long drought and winds and the perfect conditions for wildfires are there. As such prevention is key.
A national debate over how authorities should manage their response and prepare for future wildfires is currently under way. Education of the public should be part of that debate.
Perhaps Albania needs its own Smokey Bear, the mascot of the U.S. Forest Service created back in the 1940s to educate the public about the dangers of forest fires.
The truth is many Albanian farmers and ranchers regularly set fires to clear their fields for agricultural purposes. They do so because it is cheaper and easier than clearing them by other means and because they believe it enriches the land with nutrients. These rural residents have no intention in most cases for the fire to spread beyond their fields, but in conditions like these, the blazes often do, which is where government education and enforcement should come in to end the practice for good.
Albania is a small country and perhaps it can’t afford the firefighting fleet of larger nations, but arrangements should be in place to protect from wildfires. Whether it means purchasing or renting such equipment, authorities should have a backup plan when fires get out of hand. In and era in which Albania is a NATO member, the armed forces should focus a lot more on civic emergencies such as these, as experts calculate that at least 30 percent of resources of the military should be directed toward things like fighting wildfires.
The economic cost of just continuing to let the fires burn is simply too high. Some of the fires have hit the very livelihoods of many agricultural communities – vineyards, olive groves and fruit orchards.
Furthermore, Albania’s hopes for a strong tourist industry go up in flames when a major tourist destinations like Lura National Park in northern Albania sits in smolders.
The political debate over the preparedness for fire is healthy as long as it doesn’t degenerate to the usual “you lose, I win” trend. We all lose when fires flourish.
The opposition Socialists say the government was mismanaging the situation and should have done more to prepare for wildfires which occur every year. They are partially right. However, the oppositions approach is wrong. In addition to criticism, it should also offer solidarity and plans on how to do things better in the future. Using the tragedy of fires for political gain is not appropriate.
These fires are a regional scourge and they won’t go away, but at the end of the day education, investment and cooperation for prevention cost a lot less than letting them burn.
