From fires to land stewardship

From fires to land stewardship: agroecology, integrated management, and technological innovation

Every summer, Sicily (and beyond) faces one of the most serious emergencies affecting its natural, agricultural, and landscape heritage: forest and rural fires. Thousands of hectares of forests, pastures, and crops are destroyed, with enormous damage to biodiversity, the economy, tourism, and the safety of local communities.
In recent years, it has become clear that relying almost exclusively on extinguishing fires is no longer sufficient. Climate change, increasingly frequent heat waves, prolonged drought, and the progressive abandonment of rural areas necessitate a paradigm shift.
Prevention must become the cornerstone of territorial policies.

1. From a culture of emergency to a culture of prevention
The goal must not only be to put out fires more quickly, but also to prevent them from developing or to intercept them while they are still easily controllable.
To achieve this, it is necessary to build an integrated system that combines technology, human presence, and good land management.
Imagine a Sicily monitored and monitored 24/7 through a smart network of satellites, monitoring towers, drones, forestry personnel, farmers, and trained citizens.
Each component performs a different function, but they all operate as a single system.

2. The first level: technology at the service of the territory
Monitoring begins in space.
Satellite imagery provides daily information on vegetation status, drought levels, surface temperatures, and fire risk indicators. This information allows us to identify the most vulnerable areas and plan surveillance activities.
A network of smart towers would then operate across the region, equipped with optical cameras, thermal imaging cameras, meteorological sensors, and artificial intelligence systems capable of automatically recognizing smoke plumes or thermal anomalies.
When the system detects a suspicious event, the drones are deployed.
Unmanned aircraft can reach the reported location in just a few minutes, transmitting real-time images to the regional operations room. This makes it possible to quickly distinguish a developing fire from a false alarm, reducing response times.

3. The second level: the return of human presence
Technology alone is not enough.
The land needs people to experience it every day.
For this reason, the Forestry Corps would continue to be the operational point of reference for the system, coordinating inspections, checks, and interventions together with the Fire Brigade and Civil Protection.
Alongside public operators, a new role could emerge: the Farmer Lookout.
These are farmers, breeders, beekeepers, and other rural workers who, after specific training, collaborate with the regional monitoring network.
During normal work activities, they observe the land, promptly report any fire outbreaks, check the condition of forest trails and water points, and help maintain constant surveillance of rural areas.
They do not replace emergency response forces and do not perform police functions, but rather represent a qualified observation network distributed throughout the region.

4. Artificial intelligence at the service of prevention
All information flows into a Regional Operations Center equipped with a GIS platform and artificial intelligence tools.
The system integrates data from satellites, towers, drones, meteorological sensors, and operator reports.
The algorithm continuously develops a dynamic risk index, identifies the most vulnerable areas, and suggests the most appropriate interventions.
If a camera detects smoke, the satellite signals extremely dry vegetation, and a Lookout Farmer visually confirms the anomaly, the system can automatically activate the nearest drone and transmit all the information to the operators in the operations room, who retain responsibility for decisions.

5. Protecting the land also means making it less flammable.
Prevention is not just about surveillance.
A well-managed land burns much less.
For this reason, the plan integrates the objectives of fire prevention with those of agroecology.
Farms could contribute through land maintenance, reduction of dry vegetation, controlled grazing management, creation of hedges, groves, ecological strips, small reservoirs, green corridors, and agroforestry systems.
These interventions improve biodiversity, increase the soil’s water-retention capacity, reduce erosion, and, if properly designed and managed, also help reduce the continuity of plant fuel, making it more difficult for fires to spread.

6. Agroecology as a tool for environmental safety
Sicilian Regional Law No. 21 of July 29, 2021, on agroecology offers a particularly interesting framework for promoting these activities.
In compliance with current regulations and related implementing acts, farms that perform land stewardship functions could see their contribution recognized through reward systems linked to agroecological practices.
This would not simply be a matter of supporting agricultural production, but of recognizing the value of the ecosystem services provided to the community.
The farmer would thus become not only a food producer, but also a landscape custodian, an environmental defender, and a key player in fire prevention.

7. A new index: Land Stewardship
To make the system transparent and measurable, a Land Stewardship Index could be introduced, based on objective parameters such as:
– active presence in the area;
– participation in the monitoring network;
– vegetation maintenance;
– renaturalization interventions;
– increased biodiversity;
– water resource management;
– ongoing training and development.
This index could contribute, within the limits established by law, to the reward systems and rankings of regional programs dedicated to agroecology and rural development.

8. A community that protects its heritage
The project could also involve volunteer associations, environmental guides, forestry cooperatives, land reclamation consortia, protected area managers, and appropriately trained citizens.
Each entity would become part of a coordinated network, capable of observing, preventing, and responding promptly.
True innovation lies not in a single technology, but in the ability to connect people, institutions, and digital tools.

9. A vision for the future of Sicily
This model could make Sicily a European laboratory for fire prevention and integrated land management.
The goal is not only to reduce the number of fires, but to build a new relationship between people and the environment.
A well-maintained landscape is a safer landscape.
Supported and enhanced agriculture is a resource for the entire community.
Biodiversity is not only an ecological asset, but also a form of landscape protection.
Finally, technology does not replace people: it makes them more effective.
In this vision, prevention is no longer a mere expense, but a permanent investment in Sicily’s natural capital. Every hectare saved from fire means fewer CO₂ emissions, greater protection of biodiversity, greater safety for local communities, and new development opportunities for rural areas.
It’s a cultural shift, even more than an organizational one: moving from an emergency approach to one of active stewardship of the land, where institutions, the agricultural world, scientific research, and citizens share the responsibility of protecting one of the Mediterranean’s most precious environmental assets.

10. Financial Resources: Investing in Land Management to Build Sicily’s Resilience
One of the main obstacles to implementing a comprehensive regional fire prevention plan is often identified as cost. This approach, however, risks treating the intervention solely as a new expense item, while the proposed model should be interpreted as a strategic investment capable of integrating environmental, agricultural, forestry, civil protection, and technological innovation policies.
The challenge is not to identify a single source of funding, but to build a coordinated economic strategy capable of leveraging the opportunities offered by the European Union, the Italian State, the Sicilian Region, and sustainable finance tools.
The Integrated Plan for Active Land Management, Climate Resilience, and Fire Prevention fits into this framework as a proposal consistent with the main European strategies dedicated to combating climate change, protecting biodiversity, digital transformation, and restoring ecosystems.
a. European Structural Funds
The 2021-2027 European programming period offers a particularly favorable financial framework.
The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) can support the technological investments necessary for the implementation of the regional monitoring network: smart towers, video surveillance systems, GIS platforms, digital infrastructure, automated drone bases, artificial intelligence systems, and operations centers.
The European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) can finance the training of Forestry Corps personnel, Civil Protection operators, lookout farmers, specialized technicians, and all professionals involved in managing the system.
The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) is one of the most important instruments, as it supports land maintenance, agroforestry systems, renaturalization, sustainable grazing management, the creation of small reservoirs, increased biodiversity, and the valorization of ecosystem services provided by farms.
b. The Common Agricultural Policy and Agroecology
The new Common Agricultural Policy offers tools that can be fully integrated with the fire prevention strategy.
Through eco-schemes and agro-environmental-climate interventions, it is possible to support farms that adopt practices that promote soil protection, biodiversity conservation, sustainable vegetation management, and ecosystem resilience.
For Sicily, this perspective takes on even greater value thanks to Regional Law No. 21 of July 29, 2021, which promotes agroecology as a model for territorial development.
Within the framework of the tools provided by the law and its implementing acts, the participation of farms in land stewardship, environmental surveillance, renaturalization, biodiversification, and preventive maintenance could be one of the elements to be enhanced through reward systems and recognition of ecosystem services provided to the community.
From this perspective, farmers are not just producers of food products, but become key players in environmental safety and territorial resilience.
c. The Nature Restoration Regulation: Restoring nature means preventing fires
The entry into force of the European Union’s Nature Restoration Regulation represents one of the most important innovations in European environmental policies.
The regulation aims to progressively restore degraded ecosystems, recognizing that forests, wetlands, agricultural areas, waterways, and natural habitats are essential infrastructure for addressing climate change.
d. The proposed Plan is fully consistent with this vision
The renaturalization of marginal areas, the reconstruction of ecological networks, the increase in biodiversity, the creation of agroforestry systems, the restoration of wetlands, the sustainable management of vegetation, and the reduction of the continuity of plant fuel are not just environmental interventions.
They constitute genuine fire prevention measures.
An ecologically richer territory is also a more resilient territory, more hydrogeologically stable, better able to retain water, and less vulnerable to the spread of fire.
The Sicilian Region could therefore integrate this Plan into the future regional strategy for implementing the Nature Restoration Regulation, using resources earmarked for nature restoration to simultaneously strengthen territorial safety.
e. Green Safety Infrastructure
The proposal introduces an innovative concept: Green Safety Infrastructure.
Traditionally, infrastructure has been considered man-made structures.
Today, however, ecosystems can also be recognized as essential infrastructure.
Well-managed forests, ecological corridors, hedgerows, agroforestry systems, wetlands, permanent grasslands, small reservoirs, and diverse agricultural mosaics simultaneously perform ecological, productive, and civil protection functions.
They reduce the risk of fire spread, promote groundwater recharge, limit soil erosion, improve the microclimate, increase biodiversity, absorb carbon, and strengthen ecosystem resilience.
Investing in nature therefore means investing in community safety.
f. European programs dedicated to climate and research
In addition to structural funds, the Plan can be supported through the main European programs dedicated to ecological transition.
The LIFE program finances nature conservation, climate adaptation, and sustainable ecosystem management.
Horizon Europe supports research, experimentation, and technological innovation, offering opportunities for the development of advanced territorial monitoring systems, artificial intelligence, digital twins, and new technologies for fire prevention.
The Plan’s innovative nature could enable Sicily to become a European laboratory for testing integrated models of territorial resilience in the Mediterranean regions.
g. National Resources
The State also has tools that can contribute to the implementation of the Plan.
Of particular importance among these are the Development and Cohesion Fund, resources dedicated to protecting forestry heritage, public administration digitalization programs, interventions for climate change adaptation, and measures to strengthen the Civil Protection Department.
The integration of these tools would allow for the development of stable multi-year planning, moving beyond the rationale of emergency interventions.
h. The Banking System and Sustainable Finance
In recent years, the banking system has developed tools increasingly oriented toward environmental investments and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) criteria.
Green mortgages, subsidized loans, sustainable finance instruments, and green bonds can support investments by agricultural companies and public entities in the construction of reservoirs, renaturalization projects, agroforestry systems, digital infrastructure, and monitoring technologies.
The European Investment Bank (EIB), which has been financing projects dedicated to climate resilience, environmental innovation, and sustainable public infrastructure for years, can play a strategic role.
Cassa Depositi e Prestiti can also be a key partner in financing the regional and municipal infrastructure necessary for the implementation of the Plan.
i. Paying for ecosystem services
One of the most innovative aspects of the project is the financial recognition of ecosystem services.
Every farm that maintains the land, reduces fire risk, protects biodiversity, conserves the landscape, improves water management, and contributes to carbon sequestration generates benefits that accrue to the entire community.
Financially recognizing these benefits means transforming prevention from a public cost to a productive investment.
Through payment systems for ecosystem services and reward mechanisms linked to regional agroecological policies, land stewardship becomes a stable function of the agricultural enterprise.
l. A unified financial strategy
The success of the Plan will depend primarily on the Sicilian Region’s ability to coordinate all these opportunities within a single Regional Program for Active Land Management.
This is not simply a matter of combining different funding sources, but of building an integrated vision in which technological innovation, agroecology, nature restoration, civil protection, and rural development become part of a single public policy.
From this perspective, every euro invested in prevention produces a dual result: it reduces the costs of future emergencies and increases the value of Sicily’s natural capital.
Fire prevention thus becomes not just a security policy, but a comprehensive sustainable development strategy, capable of combining environmental protection, economic growth, innovation, and the well-being of local communities.

11. Economic analysis: why prevention costs much less than reconstruction
Every summer, Sicily incurs enormous costs to fight forest fires.
Added to these are damages that are often unaccounted for: loss of biodiversity, soil erosion, reduced water availability, damage to tourism, road disruptions, carbon dioxide emissions, loss of agricultural production, and a reduction in the landscape value of the area.
The real cost of a large fire is therefore much higher than the extinguishing costs alone.
a. How much could the system cost?
A preliminary estimate allows us to outline the order of magnitude of the necessary investments.
The creation of the regional network could include:
approximately 120-180 smart towers distributed across the main mountain and forest systems;
30-50 automatic drone bases with charging systems;
a regional fleet of surveillance and verification drones;
a. Regional Operations Center with a GIS platform and artificial intelligence
provincial operations rooms;
operator training;
development of the digital platform;
mobile application for the Agricoltori Vedetta and other participating entities;
communication networks and cybersecurity.
Added to these are investments in agroecological interventions: small reservoirs, ecological strips, land maintenance, renaturalization, agroforestry systems, and widespread prevention efforts.
While requiring significant initial effort, most of these investments involve infrastructure with a useful life of many years.
b. The economic return on investment
The effectiveness of the system is measured primarily by the reduction of future costs.
Every fire avoided means:
lower extinguishing costs;
lower environmental restoration costs;
less damage to farms;
less losses for the tourism sector;
less climate-altering emissions;
greater safety for citizens and operators;
less loss of forestry assets.
Prevention therefore produces a cumulative economic benefit that increases over time.
c. The economics of land stewardship
The plan also generates new economics.
The management of towers, drones, IT systems, environmental infrastructure, and monitoring activities requires new skills.
At the same time, involving farms in land management supplements rural income and encourages people to remain in inland areas, countering abandonment, which is one of the main risk factors for fires.
Every euro invested in active presence in the area also produces positive effects on employment, environmental quality, and the cohesion of local communities.
d. Prevention as a public investment
International economic analyses show that investments in natural disaster prevention generate medium- and long-term savings that often exceed the initial capital invested. Although the ratio varies depending on the type of intervention and context, the literature frequently indicates multiple benefits compared to the costs incurred.
In the case of Sicily, where the risk of fires is high and recurring, a permanent prevention system can produce a dual result: reducing public spending related to emergencies and increasing the value of the region’s natural capital.
e. An investment that looks to future generations
Sicily’s true wealth lies not only in its infrastructure or real estate, but also in its natural capital: forests, agricultural areas, biodiversity, landscape, and water resources.
Protecting this heritage means protecting the island’s economy.
The proposed plan represents not only a strategy against fires, but a new model of territorial governance based on collaboration between institutions, scientific research, farmers, local communities, and technological innovation.
Investing in prevention today means handing over to future generations a safer, greener, more resilient Sicily, capable of transforming environmental protection into a concrete opportunity for economic and social development.

12. The criminal response to arson and environmental protection
All of this should include a revision of criminal law.
Intentionally started fires represent a serious attack not only on the territory, but also on collective security and natural heritage. Anyone caught red-handed is subject to criminal prosecution for arson, with increased penalties in cases involving people, property, or areas of particular environmental value.
The recent constitutional reform of Articles 9 and 41 of the Italian Constitution, which included the protection of the environment, biodiversity, and ecosystems among the fundamental principles of the legal system, requires a new interpretation of environmental criminal law. The environment is no longer simply an asset to be protected indirectly, but an autonomous and collective value, to be defended also in the interests of future generations.
In this context, combating arson requires effective penalties, prevention, and adequate investigative tools, so that environmental protection becomes a shared legal and social responsibility.

Guido Bissanti