Located at the heart of the Lousã saw, the Lousã municipality has not remained immune to the catastrophic fires that threaten the country. Despite its short dimension, in 2022, Portugal registered one of the highest percentages of burnt areas within Europe. Heavily debated and accelerated by factors such as climate change, some specialists state that this paradigm can shift.
Despite its short dimension, in 2022, Portugal registered one of the highest percentages of burnt areas within Europe. Heavily debated and accelerated by factors such as climate change, some specialists state that this paradigm can shift.While recognizing the controversial nature and the lack of academic consensus concerning eucalyptus proliferation, often cited as one of the main causes of wildfires in the country, Catarino admitted those are easier to mitigate on native species. Catarino justifies her answer based on several factors such as the rapid burning rhythm verified on non-native species contributing to accelerated proliferation of the fire, its higher demands of water compared to autochthonous species and lastly, quick seed dispersion.Viegas harshly criticized the government arguing the forest has been neglected by the successive cabinets alleging poor management, lack of investment and scarce success in raising awareness regarding the threat and the proper measures of mitigation and security that should be activated in such a caseDespite different backgrounds and diverging opinions on the debate, all specialists are united by their devotion to an eco-friendly paradigm shift and by the idea that the best way to tackle the issue is through education making it their biggest mission, drawing particular attention to the younger generations and to integrated and sustained initiatives.
Young Reporters for the Environment 