President Tebboune Highlights Algeria’s Nationwide Response to Wildfires
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has praised the nationwide mobilization undertaken to combat the recent wildfires, stressing that Civil Protection teams, the army, forestry services, Sonelgaz workers, and young volunteers worked around the clock to protect lives and property.
Speaking during his regular media meeting with representatives of the national press, President Tebboune said climate change has become a global challenge affecting not only the Mediterranean region but many parts of the world.
He explained that every Algerian province has an emergency response plan and that these plans were activated during the recent fires. However, he acknowledged that national measures may sometimes prove insufficient when countries face disasters of exceptional scale. He noted that even developed nations have occasionally had to request international assistance when their own resources could not fully contain major emergencies.
The president praised the solidarity and commitment demonstrated by Civil Protection personnel and Sonelgaz workers during their field interventions. He said such scenes of collective mobilization reflect Algeria’s strong spirit of solidarity and announced that incentive measures would be introduced for personnel who participated directly in the response operations.
President Tebboune also confirmed that Algeria would review and update its national disaster-management plans covering wildfires, floods, and earthquakes to improve preparedness and strengthen coordination between the relevant institutions.
Regarding firefighting resources, he said Algeria deployed a fleet of 24 aircraft and helicopters during the recent operations, compared with only two helicopters available in 2021.
He added that efforts were continuing to acquire additional water-carrying aircraft, allowing the country to respond more rapidly and effectively to future forest fires and other climate-related emergencies.
