Deputy Minister of Agriculture Valentina Marinova in an interview for Focus Radio’s “This is Bulgaria” broadcast.

Presenter: We will be discussing forest fires and compare the data from 2013 with that for 2012. Ms Marinova, what do the ministries’ figures for this summer show?
Valentina Marinova: Up until the current date, fires have affected an area five times smaller than the one affected at the same time last year. Some 205 fires have been recorded in Bulgaria so far this year. They have affected a total area of 16,000 decares (daa) [1,600 ha]. At the same time last year, there were 548 fires, affecting a territory of 74,000 daa. There were a total of 890 fires in 2012. The highest number of fires was recorded in 2000 and 2007 – 1,170 and 1,478 respectively.

Presenter: As you already pointed out, the affected area is considerably smaller, but we still need to compensate the losses. We are talking about thousands of decares of destroyed forests.
Valentina Marinova: We have to note that just 15% of the affected area was actual high forests which now require regeneration efforts. However, this is the job for landowners. The remaining territory was grass and shrub, which does not require foresters’ intervention. Human negligence is the cause of 75% of forest fires; a fact that highlights the importance of prevention. As I have said on a number of occasions, we ought to work with all age groups in order to avoid future cases of illegal and uncontrolled fires. This is one of society’s biggest issues.

Presenter: I want to talk a bit more about prevention. There used to be all-encompassing information campaigns in the past. What is the ministry doing in this respect now?
Valentina Marinova: There are ongoing campaigns in both the forestry and local administration – municipal and provincial. They have consultative councils that get together every month to discuss regional needs and the coordination between various institutions. We are also adopting annual fire protection plans plus action plans for putting fires down. Both types of documents are made public. They are presented to directors of state forestries and hunting areas. They are obliged to carry out prevention activities, as they receive state funding. Foresters build the required fencing and follow the guidelines regarding the equipment they have to carry in order to be able to start fighting a fire as soon as it starts. Everybody, who enters protected areas, signs a declaration obliging them to be careful and never light a fire during the hotter months of the year.

Presenter: You mentioned fire safety. How would you assess the level of coordination between the ministry and other departments involved in fire safety? You communicate with the Chief Directorate for Fire Safety and Civil Protection to the Interior Ministry, with volunteers, with the Bulgarian Red Cross regarding both prevention and actions aimed at overcoming the consequences of fires.
Valentina Marinova: I think we are well coordinated. You can tell this is the case from said institutions’ initial response to forest fires. They work as a team in localising and determining the terrain type. Adequate reactions are even more important when the fire has affected non-negotiable areas with high forestation. Foresters and fire fighters always work together. Foresters should know the terrain and react in good time. They have all the maps and other materials that would help taking the decision on how the fire ought to be dealt with.

Presenter: So the key word is “teamwork”. Now, there is another topic I cannot afford to surpass. Autumn is coming and with it the season when people traditionally purchase firewood. We all remember last year’s crisis. Are you prepared to supply households with the required wood this time around? Will there be yet another crisis?
Valentina Marinova: We hope that the situation would be under control thanks to the joint efforts of all state institutions involved and to the right management decisions. Back on June 17th, we announced a campaign to meet people’s needs. According to calculations, Bulgarians would need some 1.2 million cubic metres of wood to last them through the winter. About 40% of said quantity is already disposed at the various regions where it will be needed. We have made public lists for every region, together with district and municipal administrations. The lists detail the quantity of firewood available for purchase at any given point in time. The society, if I may say so, has no troubles getting the needed firewood as of now. There is a lack of demand in Blagoevgrad only. This is so since people there are used to having the campaign staring a month – month and half later. They are not aware they can start purchasing firewood much earlier.

Presenter: They have a habit of purchasing the resource at a later stage of the season.
Valentina Marinova: Most definitely. People in the region are still busy harvesting the crops. This might be another reason for the delay. Our colleagues are making sure to inform people it would be better to purchase firewood earlier, given the fact that the weather conditions get worse later the access to forest areas – tougher in the year. This is why I urge everybody to get the firewood for the winter as early as possible.

Radina Hristova

© 2016 All rights reserved. Citing Focus Information Agency is mandatory!
All opinions, assessments, and statements, expressed in interviews, are personal and Focus Information Agency bears no responsibility for them.

---

---