Oviedo, Apr 3 (EFE).- The President of the Principality of Asturias, Adrián Barbón, stressed this Monday that the priority now, once the wave of forest fires has been stopped, is “the reconstruction of Asturias” and the recovery of the areas damaged, with which speculation is not going to be allowed.
The burned mountains may not change their use, nor be reclassified, nor may they be destined to house wind farms, Barbón said at a press conference after signing the decree calling for regional elections, and which he dedicated to analyzing the situation caused by the wave of fires, instead of carrying out the traditional balance of legislature.
“No one is going to benefit from this attack” because, even if it takes time, “there will be forest again where there was forest”, Barbón has guaranteed, who has advanced the implementation of a shock plan to restore and recover the areas affected by the worst wave of fires since 2017, which has devastated some 11,000 hectares, especially in the western area.
ASSESSMENT OF DAMAGES AND HELP
Barbón, who has valued the fact that there were no victims in an operation in which more than 800 people participated and in which there were nearly 400 evacuees, pointed out that these days the damage count will begin .
The head of the Asturian Executive has recalled the Principality’s intention to request the declaration of a catastrophic zone, in addition to other aid that the central government can mobilize.
In this regard, he pointed out that the Minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños, will visit the most affected area next Saturday, and that he has already arranged a working meeting with the Minister for Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, to discuss the work of reforestation.
In addition, the Principality is finalizing a plan with direct aid that is intended to be “a tailor-made suit” to help affected people and municipalities.
IMPROVE PREVENTION AND PROTECTION
Barbón has insisted that, now that it seems that “the last embers” are going out, “the priority is the reconstruction of Asturias.”
The President of the Principality has affirmed that this wave, which according to the researchers has an intentional origin, has marked “a before and after”, and for this reason the approval of the Forestry Plan, which was about to go out to information, will be paralyzed public.
The objective of the Asturian Government is to sit at the table all the agents involved, from firefighters, residents and mayors to environmentalists, ranchers and farmers, to try to reach a rigorous consensus to adopt the necessary measures to improve the prevention and management of forests and also to provide municipalities with protection infrastructures.
Barbón has assured that his Government is always self-critical in the face of the “need for improvement”, although he has recalled that half of the forests are privately owned and that the objective now should be “recalculate all prevention and protection measures”.
JAIL FOR CRIMINALS
The head of the Asturian Executive has insisted that the wave of fires that began on March 23 and which came to add 135 simultaneous outbreaks has an intentional origin, according to the investigations of the researchers, who, Barbón said, have identified several people “presumed suspicious”.
For Barbón, the perpetrators are “real criminals” who have carried out “organized actions”, as in his opinion it shows that Mount Naranco, in Oviedo, burned at dawn when suddenly ten or twelve simultaneous outbreaks were registered.
“Asturias has not burned, it has been burned” by “environmental terrorists who have put the lives of people and villages at risk,” said Barbón, who has again advocated reviewing the Penal Code so that “anyone who sets fire to a mountain goes into jail.”