Spain´s Burning Forests

The sun half hidden behind the smoke

Every year, man-made blazes destroy thousands of hectares of precious forest in Spain. Many of these fires are started deliberately.

A Heavy Price
When we consider the hypothetical and actual aftermath of such deliberate acts of destruction, it is shocking to consider that the majority of such perpetrators are fully aware of the potentially terrible consequences of their actions.

Forest fires endanger the lives of local residents and the brave men and women entrusted by society to tackle these fearsome blazes, and they destroy property, livelihoods and communities.
They also wreak grim destruction on the environment. Although many forest ecosystems around the world have evolved in conjunction with periodical fires, in the Mediterranean region the increasing frequency of such events is placing an unsustainable burden on these fragile habitats.

Countless small animals and scarce plants are killed outright by the flames, which also destroy the important, organically rich upper layers of the soil. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere, and mineral nutrients are leached out of the denuded soil by the elements.
In addition, the European Environment Agency, in its report on the effects of forest fires in southern Europe, highlights the resulting habitat fragmentation which isolates plant and animal populations, thus reducing genetic diversity and putting endangered species at risk. Also, in a country where drought and water conservation are of perennial concern, any loss of tree cover and disruption of water catchment areas is a grave matter. (...)
http://suite101.com/article/spains-burning-forests---fire-raising-and-pyromania-a405886
http://ccaa.elpais.com/ccaa/2012/06/28/valencia/1340912241_327973.html