Sensibilisation et dispositif de lutte

Awareness raising and control system

Forest fires

Throughout the national territory, but especially where the risk is greatest, strict measures have been taken by forest conservation to prevent forest fires and if they occur to contain them as quickly as possible and avoid as much damage as possible, whether human or economic losses. The first decisions concerned the ban on barbecues and the hunting of rubber tires that are found in forest areas, and which are flammable materials constituting a fire factor. Safety instructions to be strictly followed, especially from June 1 to October 31, are given to people who spend relaxing moments in the forests.
Monitoring the application of these decisions is decisive. This is the work of the rapid intervention forestry teams who act in coordination with elements of the National Gendarmerie and the National Security, and who travel around the scene to check and ensure that the risk of forest fires has been eliminated. .
This is to prevent summer visitors who prefer the forest from using barbecues or other cooking appliances, because once a flame is lit, especially in the context of a heatwave or even a temporary rise in temperature, the danger of fire is present with its devastating impact on the forest and what it shelters both in terms of population and natural wealth in biodiversity.
In certain forest areas, vehicle parking is completely prohibited. There is also no question of setting up a campsite in the forests. Citizens can participate in preventing and fighting forest fires by calling the toll-free number 1070 to report any situation that poses a fire risk. To avoid the heavy penalty provided for by the legal system for protecting forests, a lot of awareness-raising work is being done in this direction. Thus, the Algerian Red Crescent (CRA) launched, on Saturday, in Tigzirt (north of Tizi-Ouzou), an awareness campaign to fight against forest fires. The kick-off of this campaign launched in the coastal town of Tigzirt, under the slogan: “My forest, my lung, no to the extinction of nature, every second counts, let’s act quickly”, was given by the president of the CRA, Ibtissam Hamlaoui, with local authorities. In a statement to the press, Ms. Hamlaoui stressed that this campaign is part of the program of her humanitarian organization for the 2024 summer season which affects the entire wilaya of Tizi-Ouzou. The head of the CRA who also installed a rescue center at the main beach indicated, in this regard, that teams of volunteer rescuers, affiliated with the local committees of the wilaya (27 including 3 pending installation) will rotate at this beach to ensure health coverage, supporting, among other bodies, Civil Protection, throughout the summer season.
She also announced on the occasion the creation of an accommodation center for the benefit of those accompanying cancer patients, in particular those cared for at the Draâ Ben Khedda Cancer Center. For the next school year, Ms. Hamlaoui revealed a special plan which will benefit school children throughout the wilaya, in both primary and middle cycles. New this year is the addition of clothing to the school kits which will be distributed to needy children, and which usually include school supplies and aprons, in accordance with the programs of the Ministry of National Education. In addition to supporting people with specific needs and orphans, who benefit from periodic assistance, the president indicated that the CRA has initiated a sewing workshop for the benefit of widowed women, which is currently being carried out at the level of the wilaya. Accompanying awareness, a system to fight against forest fires, agricultural harvests and palm trees is implemented. It entered into service on June 1 of the current year, according to a press release from the Civil Protection services which announced that it had mobilized “20,000 agents of various ranks of the PC, spread over 65 mobile columns in the wilayas of the country , in addition to 505 PC units which contain forest areas in their areas of intervention.
Lakhdar A.