Tunis Afrique Presse (Tunis)
Tunis — Nearly 103 fires had destroyed more than 287 hectares (ha) of forests from May 1 to July 25, 2012.
According to latest statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture, 55 other fires that broke out during the same period had devastated 41.2 ha of grassland.
In fact, the number of fires (158) soared this year compared to 2011 during which 77 fires were reported. For sown areas (wheat, barley), pastures and fruit tree plantations, fires hit 340.2 ha.
The Ministry of Agriculture rang the alarm bell, calling to preserve the forest wealth essential for ecological balance.
According to Mr. Samir Belhaj Salah, Deputy Director of Forest Protection at the ministry, “fires in planted areas are not within our powers, but we focus our efforts on forests which, in case of fires, represent a real headache for us, since we fail to identify at 100% the causes of fire.”
In Tunisia, unknown causes of fires are estimated at 60% while in Morocco they stand at 55% and in France at 30%.
“In our country, fires are usually recorded in such coastal regions as Gammarth (northern suburb of Tunisia), Ghar El Melh (Bizerte) where forests are on private lands,” he said.
Forest fires are inevitable but they must not exceed one hectare per year, said the official, adding: “we are far from international standards because of lack of resources.” “We have signed with Italy a funding agreement to purchase in three years thirty equipped trucks to cope with forest fires. This is part of a long-term strategy to develop the forestry sector,” he underlined.
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