Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, Aug. 13, 2025 (Lusa) - The Institute of Forests and Nature Conservation (IFCN) on the Portuguese island of Madeira plans to use drones to drop plant seeds in hard-to-reach areas affected by the fire that ravaged the island between 14 and 26 August 2024.
"With the aim of overcoming physical access restrictions to the land, the IFCN is currently evaluating and testing the use of ‘seed balls’ with species adapted to local ecological conditions, a solution that aims to facilitate the recovery of inaccessible areas," the regional institute said in a statement sent to the Lusa news agency.
The fire, which raged for 13 consecutive days in Madeira, covered an area of 5,116 hectares between the districts of Ribeira Brava, Ponta do Sol, Câmara de Lobos (in the west) and Santana (on the north coast), with around 84% of the burned area having slopes with gradients equal to or greater than 50%, located on steep slopes and areas that are very difficult to access.
The use of drones in the ecological restoration process is therefore being evaluated by the regional authorities, but ‘requires a preliminary study in order to select the best seeds for this purpose’.
The “seed balls”, prepared with protective substrates and specific mixtures of native seeds, can then be dropped in areas that are difficult or impossible to access.
"This approach is part of an integrated ecological restoration plan, adapted to the geomorphological characteristics of the region, promoting the recovery of the ecosystem with minimal disturbance to the soil and existing biodiversity," says the IFCN.
Following last year's fire, the IFCN outlined an "emergency stabilisation plan", taking immediate action in an area that was "most sensitive", covering an area of around five hectares, removing charred vegetation, installing physical barriers and planting species. At the same time, it drew up a number of medium- and long-term intervention and ecological restoration projects, which are currently being assessed under European funding mechanisms.
These projects, valued at around €1.4 million, aim to introduce 170,000 plants.
The 2024 fire consumed 139 hectares of laurel forest, which is a world heritage site covering a total of 15,000 hectares, and threatened the nests of the Madeira petrel, an endangered seabird that nests in the mountains between Pico do Areeiro and Pico Ruivo.
The IFCN guarantees that the nests were not destroyed and explains that the 139 hectares of laurel forest are included in the Natura 2000 network and are located in areas that are difficult to access.
"Given this scenario, knowing the severity of the fire and recognising the species' capacity for regeneration, the IFCN has opted to maintain a strategy of active and continuous monitoring of these areas, allowing the natural evolution of the vegetation to be assessed so that a medium/long-term strategy can be drawn up to implement complementary measures that can accelerate recovery," it explained.
The rural fire of 2024 broke out on 14 August in the mountains of the local authority of Ribeira Brava, in the west of Madeira, spreading progressively to the districts of Câmara de Lobos, Ponta do Sol and Santana. On the 26th, after 13 days, the Regional Civil Protection Service indicated that the rural fire was "completely extinguished".
There were no reports of injuries or destruction of homes or essential public infrastructure, and the area burned was mainly scrubland, forest and small agricultural holdings, with around 200 farmers and 41 livestock producers reporting losses.
The situation with the greatest impact was the evacuation of 120 residents from Fajã das Galinhas, a remote site in the highlands of the district of Câmara de Lobos, due to the flames that surrounded the area and made the only access road impassable for about two kilometres along an escarpment.
A year later, according to the authorities, the escarpment remains "unstable and unsafe for people to travel on" and residents are still in temporary accommodation.
The firefighting operation mobilised more than a thousand firefighters from the region's fire brigades, working in shifts, as well as members of the Joint Operational Force (FOCON) and volunteer firefighters from the Azores, who were supported by 268 vehicles and three aircraft - the permanent helicopter and two Canadair water bombers, deployed through the European Civil Protection Mechanism, which made 26 drops between 22 and 23 August.
The fire led to the establishment of a commission of inquiry in the Legislative Assembly of Madeira, at the request of the PS, then the largest regional opposition party, with the aim of determining political responsibility for the management of the firefighting operation, in which various entities were heard.
However, the work was interrupted in January 2025 following the fall of the PSD minority regional government and was never resumed, with the Social Democrats winning the early elections on 23 March and forming a coalition government with the CDS-PP.
DC/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
