Forest Fire Surface Area Dropped by 51% Over 2013-2016

Rabat, 03/05/2017 (MAP) – The surface area of forests that were destroyed by fire decreased by 51% between 2013-2016 to reach 1,812 hectares per year, said, on Wednesday in Rabat, Fouad Assali, head of the national centre for forest climate risks, under the high commissioner for waters, forests, and the fight against desertification (HCEFLCD).

While presenting a report on forest fire in the year 2016, during a meeting by the management committee in charge of the prevention and the fight against forest fire under the chairmanship of the high commissioner Abdeladim Lhafi, Assali noted that the report shows a limited number of forest fires and torched surface areas in 2016, that is 2,585 ha for 422 forest fires (an average of 6ha per forest fire).

The data on the past 20 years, especially when we compare statistics over 1997-2006 with that of 2007-2016, reveal that the surface areas of forests destroyed by fire in Morocco decreased by 23% in 2016 (from 3,700 ha to 2,850 ha per year), said the official.

Assali also noted that Morocco has a low rate of forest fire surface area (2,585 ha) compared to the total forest area of the country, thanks to the efforts made by the different departments concerned in terms of monitoring, detection and intervention.