Globally, forest fires have become the world’s leading cause of deforestation. Last year, 30 million hectares of forest disappeared worldwide, ten times the area of Belgium. This is what emerges from an analysis of the World Resources Institute (WRI), a design office which has been carrying out research on the causes of forest fires for over 20 years. In 2024, at the global level, fires generated four times more greenhouse gas emissions than the aviation sector in 2023. The climate crisis played a direct role in these fires. 2024 was the hottest year ever recorded in the world.
We threaten our forests while they protect us from the sun that hits too hard, physical and mental health seeds and warming
Belgium, the new South
Countries with pure coniferous forests, as with us, are already subject to carnage because they are fragile ecosystems. Canada with its spicy, the Mediterranean (including Greece and Turkey) with its dry pines and brush, Australia with its eucalyptus. “”We are far from being protected. Fires are a new threat“, poses Simon l’Hoest, expert in forest resources at the Gembloux agro bio-tech.
In less than 25 years, we will have the same climate as the south of France. But tomorrow is already now. Last spring, we banned the fagnes for walkers because he was too dry. A fire that calcined ten hectares on the side of Houffalize on April 13 struck the spirits and suddenly given a puff of anxiety to certain large forest owners who have insured against the risk of fire.
More and more forests insured
Jean-Charles Deviron, at the helm of the Amifor insurance company, testifies. He never had such an increase in requests that this spring. “”The guaranteed area has increased by 10 % following the biggest disaster known since the 1970s. “However, this remains modest. Of our 700,000 hectares of forests, only 87,000 are assured. Until ten years ago, we did not worry at all of fires because we were a country watered by the rains. But now, we have dry spring that can last one or two months with eastern winds that are drying. “”The quantity of rainfall does not worry us but its erratic distribution. We had fires that were unthinkable in Brittany“, Warnings Nicolas Dassonville.
Fires are not the only evils of our forests due to drought and new climatic violence. In 2018, 2019 and 2023, the Schieste tackled the spruces. “”These are insects that lay under the bark. In principle, resin drowns the larvae except in the event of drought. This is a spectacular case but we are witnessing this side of a decline of beech trees, oaks, spruces and pines which are the four dominant species in Belgium. Drought is already doing damage“Explains Nicolas Dassonville.”The beech dumbfounded because of drying. The oak too and, in addition, it no longer regenerates naturally via its seeds. The exchanges of hot-cold air, the intense flows of air, wind and rains are worrying. We are touched by the Chablis phenomenon with falls of trees that fall like matches“, Lands up Simon the Hoest.”The time of the forest is long and that of the climate accelerates. The solutions are not only due to forest management but also to reduce climate change itself“.
Sébastien Carbonnelle, of nature & forests adds: “Of course, all our trees suffer from global warming, but we do not emphasize enough how much forest management has considerably weakened the resilience of the forests. Unlike catastrophist speeches that we can hear, no, our beech trees or our oaks will not disappear! The plantations of exotic species are much more likely to ignite than natural forests.”
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Belgians, beginners
Hugues Claessens of Uliège with several other experts in forests and climatologists works to predict potential ravages by creating a vulnerability card to generate alerts. “”France is far ahead of us who are only beginners. We must ensure that firefighters have access to the departures of forest fires without getting bogged down and having water reserves.“In the Hautes-Fagnes as in Elsenborn, we have already created pretty artificial lakes which attract storks and dragonflies. The public sees only fire. And these forests too largely populated by spruces are more or less protected.
Actually, “Everything is to be done and there is no expert. There are no historical fires and if fire cuts sometimes exist, they are not maintained and serve more for hunters than for their initial function“, denounces Hugues Claessens.”There will be no miracle solution. We must combine the methods“, supports Nicolas Dassonville. It is therefore urgent to ensure that they are preserved wildly packed by large forest vehicles, which limits their ability to absorb water and aggravates the water retention capacity.”It is recommended to arrange tracks for 4 -meter machines so that only 10 % of soils are packed.”
The Walloon administration has just created a working group that collaborates with the French who have long expertise in the Landes. French firefighters came to train Walloons and the Federal has released a modest woolen stockings to govern the risks and predict fires. In the meantime, Jean-Charles Deviron has another proposal. “”Since spring and end of summer are the seasons at risk and that a simple megot can make everything go on fire, we would like as at sea to create a system of flags at the entrance to the forests. If it is red, we are not going to walk. “
