Subsidizing perimetral fire prevention in Barcelona's Wildland-Urban Interface

The Barcelona Provincial Council supports municipalities with technical expertise and funding to establish mandatory perimetral fire prevention strips around urbanized areas in the Wildland-Urban Interface. These measures reduce wildfire risk in a region with high population density, expanding urban development, and increasing flammability due to land abandonment and climate change. The Programme for the Prevention of Forest Fires in Residential Areas (PPU), launched in 2004, provides subsidies for planning and implementation. DIBA, the provincial technical body, delivers delimitation maps and Forest Fire Prevention Plans, including executive designs for 25-meter security strips on unbuilt, municipal, and green spaces. The initiative targets high-risk zones where human settlements meet forests, especially in the Barcelona metropolitan area, to mitigate ignition likelihood and impact.