The challenge
Fragmented agencies focused on fighting fires, not preventing them, as rural land and fuel built up.
The case
In 2017 wildfires in Portugal killed more than 100 people, including 66 in the June Pedrógão Grande fire. The government responded with an Integrated Rural Fire Management System and a new coordinating body, AGIF, set up in 2018. Rules on fuel-break zones around buildings were tightened, penalties raised and prescribed burning encouraged. An OECD review found that public funding for wildfire management has doubled since 2018, with a large share now going to prevention. Results have been uneven. 2023 was a mild season with a low burned area and, for the first time, no fire deaths. But the 2024 and 2025 seasons were severe, and the OECD says the reforms still need strengthening.
Why the results were mixed
Moving money and authority toward prevention has improved coordination and helped in milder years, but it cannot yet offset extreme heat and drought on a landscape of unmanaged, fuel-heavy land.
Sources
- OECD (2026). Towards an Integrated Rural Fire Management Framework in Portugal. OECD Publishing.
- The Portugal News (2023). First year ever without fatalities caused by fires.
Spot an error or know a better source? Tell us