We have just experienced horrific fires here in Monchique, in the Algarve, Portugal. Moving here 9 months ago to a paradise of green, beautiful nature, our lives have been turned upside down over night. 

The problem starts because it was & still is encouraged to plant Eucalyptus trees here on a major scale, all to meet the needs of the paper industry. It is a powerful tree that needs no maintenance for easy profit, but when planted as it is on such a vast scale it is a disaster waiting to happen & which has been ruining lives for too long. The mountains of Monchique are home to superb wildlife, trees & a growing, diverse community of people, who are more & more aware of the danger that surrounds such plantations. We are all very aware that every 12 years or so the trees are ready for use & are easier to handle after being treated with fire, whether the fires are natural or not, they are occurring every 12 years or so on a major scale.    Starting at eucalyptus plantations & taking homes, lives & beautiful nature all with it every time.

          We ask that specific legal requirements are put into place. It the plantations are not banned completely , at least they should be held accountable for such disaster. A strong boarder of fire resistant species of trees & plants , sprinklers and such technology should need to be in place to prevent the spread of fire. Not to mention a limit on the scale of the monoculture before a safe break between. At present it appears there are none.

        We saw the fires start in the far distance, on Friday the 3rd August , some miles away at such a plantation, two days later it had reached our land & burnt all buildings & every bit of green is now charcoal. It is heart breaking, there may not of been human fatalities to record but we shudder to think of all the wildlife that was burnt alive. Please never let this happen yet again ,it is criminal & we need change on an enormous scale.