In a significant move to tackle the increasing threat of forest fires, Morocco's National Agency for Water and Forests (ANEF) has announced a budget of 150 million dirhams, which is approximately 13 million euros, dedicated to prevention and firefighting efforts this year. This decision comes in light of heightened fire risks attributed to the lush vegetation resulting from the recent rainfall across the North African country.
The allocated funds will be utilized for various critical actions, including the cleaning and maintenance of firebreaks, the enhancement and establishment of water points to aid in firefighting, proactive forest management aimed at mitigating fire risks, and strengthening human and material resources for intervention, as detailed in ANEF's recent statement.
According to the agency, 2025 witnessed a total of 418 fires, which affected an area of 1,728 hectares, with 33% of this area comprised of shrubs and small plants. This figure represents a remarkable decrease of 65% compared to the average of the past decade, underscoring the effectiveness of collaborative prevention and intervention efforts.
Furthermore, ANEF highlighted that the regions of Tétouan and Alhucemas in the north accounted for 40% of the fire outbreaks and 89% of the total burned area nationwide. "Thanks to the coordinated mobilization of various stakeholders, 94% of the fires were contained before they exceeded 5 hectares. However, two significant fires that occurred in August in the province of Chaouen exceeded 100 hectares, with burned areas measuring 859 and 280 hectares, respectively," the agency added.
As reported by swissinfo.ch.
