>Prime Minister António Costa referred to the disaster, which tore through 540,000 hectares of land, as “the greatest tragedy of its kind we have seen in recent years” and acknowledged the state’s responsibility in its spread.
>“Some examples are for people living in rural areas. Such as giving directions on how to clear debris in areas that they live in… and making sure that brush and tree overhang are a bit further away from their houses,” she explains.
>The largest shift, however, was an agricultural one: Portugal moved away from its reliance onmonoculture plantations. In the past, wood pulp acted as tinder that fanned the flames. “They had big monocultures of eucalyptus trees, and eucalyptus trees are quite flammable, and they can create drier conditions,” Bognar says, adding, “they increased the spread and intensity of fires.”
>This is something Tziritis recognises. He says that the Portuguese authorities responded to the deadly 2017 fires by ordering a review of what happened then enforcing the report’s recommendations and reinstating community confidence. “The government did this,” he says, but in Greece “people are afraid of change”.
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Να ήταν ο μόνος τομέας που δεν κάνουμε αρκετά, καλά θα ήταν
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Ενδιαφέρουσα η σύγκριση με την Πορτογαλία.
>Greece is not the first European country to battle deadly fires, of course. Its southern European neighbour [**Portugal was set alight in 2017**](https://www.euronews.com/video/2017/08/16/thousands-of-firefighters-battle-central-portugal-wildfires), with a firestorm in the country’s regional centre killing 66 people and injuring 44 others.
>Prime Minister António Costa referred to the disaster, which tore through 540,000 hectares of land, as “the greatest tragedy of its kind we have seen in recent years” and acknowledged the state’s responsibility in its spread.
>Julia Bognar heads up the Brussels-based Institute of European Environmental Policy. She tells Euronews Green that Portugal is a “good example” of a government that scaled-up its response following a blaze. To her, it says [**Portugal**](https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/05/31/spain-italy-portugal-which-european-countries-are-most-vulnerable-to-drought) is willing to learn from “negative” events.
>“Some examples are for people living in rural areas. Such as giving directions on how to clear debris in areas that they live in… and making sure that brush and tree overhang are a bit further away from their houses,” she explains.
>The largest shift, however, was an agricultural one: Portugal moved away from its reliance onmonoculture plantations. In the past, wood pulp acted as tinder that fanned the flames. “They had big monocultures of eucalyptus trees, and eucalyptus trees are quite flammable, and they can create drier conditions,” Bognar says, adding, “they increased the spread and intensity of fires.”
>This is something Tziritis recognises. He says that the Portuguese authorities responded to the deadly 2017 fires by ordering a review of what happened then enforcing the report’s recommendations and reinstating community confidence. “The government did this,” he says, but in Greece “people are afraid of change”.
Να ήταν ο μόνος τομέας που δεν κάνουμε αρκετά, καλά θα ήταν