After several fires in northern Algeria in recent days, more than 10,000 hectares of El Kala National Park have been destroyed. It was classified as a “biosphere reserve” by Unesco.
The forest fires that have ravaged northern Algeria in recent days are almost all extinguished, firefighters said on Saturday. But according to an expert, more than 10,000 hectares of El Kala National Park have gone up in smoke. This represents one-eighth of its area.
“In the last 48 hours, firefighters have intervened on 51 fires”, in 17 departments, and they are still fighting two fires in Tlemcen, in the west of the country, indicates Algerian civil protection.
El Kala, one of the main reservoirs of biodiversity in the Mediterranean basin
In the northeast of the country, the El Kala National Park, endowed with a unique ecosystem in the Mediterranean basin and classified as a biosphere reserve by Unesco, has seen more than 10,000 hectares go up in smoke in recent days, an academic Rafik Baba Ahmed told AFP.
Considered one of the main reservoirs of biodiversity in the Mediterranean basin, this park with a total area of nearly 80,000 hectares is home to several hundred species of birds, mammals, and fish which give it “an exceptional biological richness”. , underlines Rafik Baba Ahmed, who was director of this park.
The academic says he is “pessimistic” about the future of the park, because “over time, the fires weaken the forest, making it vulnerable to other attacks such as those from harmful insects, but above all human activities”.
The human toll from the gigantic fires on Wednesday and Thursday in the north of this Maghreb country rises according to official data to 37 dead, while local media report a 38th victim, a 72-year-old man in Guelma (east). ), as well as missing persons.
Every summer, northern Algeria is affected by forest fires. Last year, they killed at least 90 people. This phenomenon is accentuated from year to year under the effect of climate change, leading to droughts and heat waves.
The largest country in Africa, Algeria has only 4.1 million hectares of forest, with a very low rate of reforestation (1.76%).
