Spain: fewer wildfires, more problems in forest protection
As the 2013 wildfire season has not yet ended, Spain has been fortunate to experience fewer in number and less devastating wildfire incidents, compared to previous years. This however was the consequence of a relatively mild summer and high levels of springtime rainfall - not the result of properly equipped and coordinated wildfire prevention and combatting mechanisms.
According to WWF Spain, the wildfire prevention budget has been cut by 76%, since 2009. At the regional level, these budget cuts have resulted in reduced operational capacity and serious shortages in equipment. Similar problems undermine forest protection in Greece as well: wildfire prevention funding has been reduced by 20% since 2012, whereas the necessary seasonal firefighting staff had not been hired until the end of June.
Sources: WWF Spain (in Spanish), WWF Greece (in Greek).