Impacto Económico da Área Ardida nos Municípios Portugueses no Período de 2015 a 2018

Abstract

Abstract

Purpose: In Portugal, the most accentuated natural risk occurs at the level of fires, mainly rural, making the correct planning of forest areas essential. The present work proposes to focus on a sample of 30 affected municipalities, draw conclusions regarding the performance of the latter in combating, preventing, and recovering territories, through the analysis of municipal budgets and respective expenditures adjacent to the subject under study.

Methodology: Data were collected regarding the burned area, demographically characterized, the regions, and the relationship with the rural exodus was observed. For an economic characterization, the birth and mortality levels of the companies were analyzed, as well as the variations in the turnover and gross added value. An analysis was made of the municipal expenses applied in environmental recovery and fire fighting. The latent classes model was applied to ensure intergroup homogeneity and heterogeneity between groups, constituting the profile of the municipalities in 2015 and 2018. Then, through the structural equation model, hypotheses were structured for the year 2015 and 2018, drawing the necessary conclusions from the supported hypotheses.

Findings: Overall, it was not observed that the Burnt Area, for the time being, influences municipal policies in their expenditure on environmental recovery. It is, however, observable that municipal revenues and expenses influence the added value of the business fabric.

Originality/Value: Withdrawal of conclusions regarding the actions of municipalities in combating, preventing, and recovering territories.

Keywords: Continental Portuguese Territory, Fires, Burnt Area, Portuguese Municipalities