Sicily leaders propose new territory management model to combat wildfires

At a conference in Taormina titled ‘La Sicilia brucia e la Politica deve agire’, Sicilian regional leaders and local officials gathered to discuss a new model for territory management and wildfire prevention. The event, organized by Taormina Mayor Cateno De Luca, aimed to create a legislative proposal for the Sicilian Regional Assembly to better protect the ecosystem.

Mayor De Luca proposed that the public sector should intervene on private lands that are not properly cleared of vegetation to prevent fires, with the costs later recovered from the owners through tax enforcement. He emphasized the need for a regional revolving fund to support these actions.

Regional President Renato Schifani called for political consensus and cooperation with opposition parties to address territorial issues, moving past ideological barriers. Meanwhile, Gaetano Galvagno, President of the Sicilian Regional Assembly, stressed that municipalities require more resources for prevention, arguing that funding should not be distributed solely based on population numbers, as this fails to account for depopulated areas.