Temperatures have reached a record-high in July 2023, announced as the hottest month on record. Globally, a record number of devastating forest fires have been observed in recent years and are becoming a major environmental, social, and economic threat. 

Algeria is highly exposed to forest fires, which affect an average of 33,000 hectares every year. Wildfires have increased significantly in the last few years, causing human, ecological and economic losses for the regions affected by these fires.

In 2021, Algeria was hit by a series of unprecedented devastating forest fires, Extreme climatic conditions characterized by severe drought and unfavorable winds, coupled with intentional or unintentional human factors, caused devastating fires in several of the country's wilayas, scorching more than 90,000 hectares of land. Wildfires across 10 cities (Ain Defla, Bejaia, Bouira, Chlef, Guelma, Jijel, Khenchela, Skikda, Tipaza, et Tizi Ouzou), resulted in the loss of land, lives, and livelihoods.

UNDP supported the Algeria government’s emergency response operations through a series of intervention initiatives, to rehabilitate and restore the areas affected by wildfires.

Coordinated efforts to restore forest landscapes

The project deployed large-scale efforts to limit the resurgence of forest fires through silvicultural treatment of no less than 276 hectares in 4 municipalities of the city of Tizi Ouzou as well as 2 municipalities in Bejaia, both severely affected by wildfires.

Reducing the risk of forest flooding was one of the project’s priorities, the project conducted torrential correction of 790 m3 during its’ first phase, followed by 1430 m3 in Dirah, in the outskirts of the city of Bouira, during its’ second phase.

UNDP implemented the project in collaboration with the General Directory of Forests (DGF), and received the financial support of the embassies of the UK and the Netherlands, and Fruital Coca-Cola.

Post-wildfire forest recovery

DGF Joined forces with Civil Society Organizations to strengthen the resilience of the communities, by coordinating public awareness campaigns to increase preparedness in the region. CSOs have also extended their efforts through reforestation: a total of 58 CSOs got involved, 218 people, including 70 women, were trained in reforestation techniques.

Reforestation actions with the participation of SCOs resulted in the planting of more than 185.400 seedlings to reforest nearly 1400 hectares of land.

Additionally, the project developed a manual about forest rehabilitation best practices was designed for CSOs’ needs, to sustain reforestation campaigns at the local level.

To sustain public awareness efforts, the project produced TV and radio spots in Arabic and French, shared on Algerian TV and radio channels, with the purpose to equip the population with knowledge on preventive measures and actions to take in case of forest fires.

An innovative digital solution to protect forests

Through its’ Digital Strategy, UNDP strives to support countries build societies where digitalization is used ethically and sustainably, while offering solutions to critical issues and contributes to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

The project sought to provide a digital solution to sustain reforestation efforts across the country. This led to develop a digital platform called “Tashdjir” (“Planting” in Arabic), an innovative tool that allows DGF and its 58 conservations to manage, track and monitor replantation operations to restore areas that were affected by forest fires, through geographical data.

The platform consists of different modules and not only allows to view reforestation sites but also the type of species that are planted, seed-bearing strands, nurseries, and measures the impact of the reforestation efforts.

Last May, an event was organized to highlight the remarkable achievements of the project,

Mrs. Blerta Aliko, UNDP Algeria’s Resident Representative stated that “Beyond the concrete results achieved by this project, we would like to emphasize the importance of fighting forest fires in Algeria. Forests represent a major challenge for the country in terms of biodiversity, climate regulation, soil protection, community retention and economic development. Forest fires represent a direct threat to these issues and to the local populations who depend on them.

It is therefore essential to continue supporting national efforts to combat forest fires in Algeria, in particular by stepping up prevention and raising public awareness, developing innovative methods and tools for managing forest resources, and ensuring the sustainable availability of seedlings for reforestation operations.”

Global average temperatures continue to rise, effective and sustainable preventive measures are essential to protect lives, land and livelihoods facing forest fires, UNDP continues to support Algeria in its efforts for a greater resilience to climate change.