Governance Failures Fuel Wildfire Crisis in Southern Europe

Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal are ravaged by wildfires annually. Climate change is worsening weather conditions. However, repeated mistakes from national and local administrations doom local communities and nature to worse outcomes. The investigation by a large cross-border team of journalists revealed what these mistakes are in the entire cycle of wildfires. The lack of a comprehensive EU legislation for wildfire management is allowing these mistakes to happen.

Photo: Aerial view of the paths affected by the 2022 summer wildfires and the new logging routes that have emerged and developed since then in Ferreras de Arriba, Sierra de la Culebra, June 2024. The expansion of these routes has raised concerns among residents about the impact on the local environment. // Jordi Jon Pardo.