Measures for the restoration of agricultural land and the prevention of forest fires
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There is a broad consensus that the abandonment of agricultural land—often linked to rural depopulation across Spain—is a primary driver of the worsening forest fire crisis. In this context, initiatives to restore and enhance productive agricultural land offer a viable alternative to alleviate this issue, helping to prevent fires and mitigate their severity. Consequently, modern forest fire prevention policies cannot be effectively designed without integrating these land-use measures. Galician regional legislation explicitly provides for such instruments, specifically through agroforestry firebreaks and the declaration of comprehensive biomass management projects driven by agricultural and livestock activities, both of which are processed through the “model villages” (villas modelo) approval procedure. However, implementing these solutions presents various challenges, particularly sociological ones, such as potential community opposition to the compulsory mobilization of land. To overcome these barriers, the active involvement of local authorities, especially municipalities, is essential.