Planning together for wildfire prevention: presenting the territorial planning guidelines developed with and for the Altofonte community

The territorial planning guidelines developed as part of the project “Custodians and Territory: Territorial Planning with and for the Community for Fire Prevention” have been presented. This project was carried out by the Collettivo Rewild Sicily, promoted and supported by the Sicily Environment Fund, in collaboration with the Department of Agricultural, Food, and Forest Sciences at the University of Palermo, Pro Loco Altofonte APS, the Moarda Viva Verde and Safe Citizens’ Committee.

In Sicily, the growing number of wildfires, the abandonment of agricultural land, and the loss of knowledge and traditional good practices in land management contribute to the increasing risk of fires, with severe consequences and impacts on human activities and the conservation of nature and biodiversity. In response to this threat, the project involved the Altofonte community, which was severely affected by the wildfires in 2020 and 2023, in the territorial planning process, primarily aimed at fire prevention.

Several participatory activities, including meetings, roundtables, and field trips, led to the identification of guidelines and operational actions for land management that can be considered preparatory for the development of a Forest Management Territorial Plan that also enhances the social aspect. Thanks to the collaboration of the residents, volunteers from Civil Protection, and Altofonte’s mayor Angela De Luca, crucial information was gathered to draft the territorial plan guidelines, fully reflecting the resources and management needs of the territory itself. The project also included the implementation of a firebreak measure, a green firebreak made of succulent plants that, in the event of a fire, can slow down the intensity of the flames, aiding firefighting operations.

The guidelines were shared with policymakers and structured around four key sectors in the territorial planning process: an urban sector, aimed at revitalizing the civic center by improving traffic, infrastructure, and connectivity; an agricultural sector, focused on combating land abandonment, promoting sustainable practices, and enhancing local production; a forestry sector, with the aim of optimizing forest resource management and protecting the environment; and a “pastoral” sector, aimed at rationalizing grazing and mitigating the risk of fire propagation in the most sensitive areas, through the application of sustainable grazing practices.

Donato La Mela Veca, Professor of Forest Planning and Fire Prevention at the Department of Agricultural, Food, and Forest Sciences at the University of Palermo, who has long advocated the importance of forest planning at all levels of detail (regional, territorial, and business), closely followed the project’s development and emphasized: “The Custodians and Territory project represents a virtuous example of a participatory approach to forest planning for territorial management. Involving the local population in the management decisions of the territory is the foundation for the effective implementation of these decisions and for their effectiveness in fire prevention.”

Angela De Luca, Mayor of Altofonte, actively participated in the project, making the involvement of Altofonte’s citizens, and beyond, possible and encouraging. In her statement, she commented: “I would like to thank the associations and citizens who took part, especially appreciating the love and interest that many of them, even though not from the area, have shown and continue to show towards our community.”

The results of the project, presented to the community and local and regional institutions, represent an important foundation for the development and adoption of concrete policy tools and a pilot case that can be replicated in other areas of the regional territory to address the wildfire issue and risks in an integrated and participatory way.

Download the policy brief and the guidelines here: https://collettivorewildsicily.com/home/common-grounds/