Agenda 21: Fires and Olive Oil
Chris Jones
I have tried to sort out the facts from the fiction, and am gradually updating the Wiki page on Wildfires : http://agenda21-xabia.wikidot.com/wild-fires to develop a resource of background information.
In the meantime here are some quotes from A.T. Grove and Oliver Rackham (MEDALUS - The EU MEditerranean Desertification And Land Use programme) "The Nature of Mediterranean Europe - An Ecological History"
Chap 13 : Fire: Misfortune or Adaptation ?
..."Fire is a natural part of many Mediterranean ecosystems, but people leave it out of their calculations and plans. It comes as a surprise which repetition does little to diminish. It threatens human life when people insist on building houses among fiery vegetation..."
Chris
Granadella Fire advice: leave it for 18 months
Sept 12th
Reforestation in the burnt landscapes of Javea, Benitachell and Bolulla will not take place before a year and a half has lapsed, according to preliminary estimates of the technicians of the Ministry of Agriculture, Environment, Climate Change and Rural Development. Experts from the Mediterranean Centre for Environmental studies (CEAM (Click here for English version of CEAM website)) agree large burned tree trunks could be removed - but with utmost care particularly on steep slopes, so as to not adversely affect the soil. The finer material should be left behind as a protective layer for the soil, and the removed burned timbers crushed and redistributed over the land as an additional buffer against high ground temperatures. This method was used successfully in the Montgó fire. Trees in high risk areas e.g. beside roads should be removed. In the long term, a preventive silviculture could be used .e.g. planting mature oaks and other native species. The Mediterranean Centre for Environmental Studies, based in Paterna, has conducted numerous studies on reforestation and issued manuals for action based on scientific criteria from experience of 250 fires over 500 hectares in the Valencia region between 1968 and 2013. From: Las Provincias
The irony of the Ramblars green waste landfill fire
Sept 11th
Some years ago, Xàbia's Ramblars green waste landfill spontaneously burst into flames. The fired burned for many days. In August 2015 Xàbia Town hall asked for companies to tender for a one year contract (€336,000) to manage the green waste landfill site at Ramblars. An estimated 18,000 tonnes of garden waste was expected to be processed and packaged to be sent to another (unspecified) site. Part of the contract stated that the green waste should "not be accumulated for more than a month" and that the contractor should provide a shredder. The specification also stated that "the contractor is obliged to take all measures necessary to prevent the risk of fire in the landfill " and " to do the work to covert the raw waste into stacks so as to minimize the risk of spontaneous combustion " From: XAD In September 2016 the Town hall announced tendering for a two year (extendable) contract for €109,674 for the control and regulation of Ramblars: control and custody of these municipal facilities, monitoring of waste management (with particular interest if they are from species affected by pests), guarding against the risk of fire or flood water and controlling access only to authorized users. (XAD The closing date for tenders was September 7th. Ramblars burst into flame on September 6th (and of time of writing is still burning)
Taking stock of the Sept 4th fire
Sept 11th
The Director General of Emergencies ( Jose Maria Angel) and regional Minister of the environment, Elenia Cebrián) flew over the area incinerated by last Sunday's fire in Xàbia (final estimate: 689 hectares, less than originally thought) and stated that the burned areas will be regenerated and "under no circumstances reclassified ". He is committed to collaboration in restoration work and new forest management which will begin with round tables. He also stated, in the light of Guardia Civil and Seprona investigations that he had no doubt the fire was cause by negligence or carelessness. The most likely hypothesis was that cigarette butts discarded near the viewing point on the road up to the Cumbre from Benitatxell had ignited the fire. They were looking for two cars: one grey, the other garnet which had been seen in the area just before the fire. They were also looking for a BMW series 5 seen early on Monday morning in la Granadella. From Las Provincias. The fire highlighted the difficulties posed by developments that grew adjacent to forest areas during the construction boom. Cebrián has called for the creation of "broad security zones" between these inhabited areas and forests. From: La Marina Plaza . Meanwhile Xàbia and Benitatxell are taking different paths after the fire: Benitatxell council has declared the zone an official catastrophe, so as to get Government aid, while Xàbia has choosen not to, since the financial aid regulations include only primary residences among other drawbacks. FromXAD. For Xabia press release see:Javeamigos
Valencia will ensure burnt land cannot be rezoned for construction
Sept 8th
The regional government of Valencia says it will ensure that land damaged by a recent spate of forest fires cannot be rezoned for construction purposes. On Wednesday, regional premier Ximo Puig of the Valencian Socialists (PSPV-PSOE) told reporters that his administration’s goal is “for nobody to ever have the slightest interest in burning down woodland for rezoning.” Valencia’s left-leaning regional administration – which came to power in June 2015, ending more than two decades of conservative Popular Party (PP) rule – has already overturned earlier legislation allowing land damaged by fire to be used for building “on an exceptional basis.” “This can no longer be done in the Valencia region. It can in other parts of Spain,” said Puig, who still considers it necessary to “intensify the ban so there is no doubt whatsoever.” For full story see: El Pais in English
The Fire of September 2016
Sept 5th
One of the worst blazes in living memory has burned many acres and resulted in the evacuation of more than a thousand residents and holidaymakers from the urbanisations in the hills to the south of the municipality. There are unconfirmed reports that 20 houses have been destroyed and the regional government say that they believe that the fire was started deliberately but there will be no confirmation until the inferno has been extinguished and the investigators can do their work. At the time of writing, fire-fighting assets were still fighting to bring the inferno under control, almost two years to the day after a huge fire consumed much of La Plana. The fire originated on the western slopes of the Puig Llorença below the Cumbre del Sol urbanisation at about 3.30pm. For full, and excellent report on the fire on Sept 5th and subsequent updates see: Javeamigos
For general background information about Wildfires in Spain see: Wild Fires
Spain - top Olive Oil producer
Sept 4th
Spain is the world’s top producer of olive oil. The Interprofesional del Aceite de Oliva Español notes that average production in the last six seasons was over 1.3 million tons in Spain, compared with 447,700 in Italy. This group also says that Italian oil is almost entirely reserved for domestic consumption, and that most of the oil that Italy exports is in fact Spanish in origin. A recent study by GEA Iberia forecast that Spain will be responsible for half of the world’s olive oil production in the 2016/2017 season, the financial newspaper Expansión reported. The Andalusian province of Jaén, with around 550,000 hectares of olive groves and over 66 million olive trees, is Spain’s top producer. The industry association Esencia de Olivo notes that “Jaén produces more oil than the world’s second producing nation, Italy.” for full story see : El Pais in English(Ed's note: It's also the worlds second producer of opium : - El Pais in English.
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Cullen Hightower