From Fire to Resilience: Rethinking How Algeria Manages Its Forests
Published on: Tuesday 16 June 2026
In the summer of 2021, the hills of northeastern Algeria disappeared behind walls of smoke. Wildfires swept through Béjaïa, El Tarf, and Tizi Ouzou with a speed and ferocity that overwhelmed communities and firefighters alike. More than 100 people lost their lives. Forests that had sustained families for generations - supporting livelihoods, sheltering livestock, and anchoring watersheds - were gone in days. The damage to agriculture and housing alone exceeded US$124 million
