A 2025 with a red stamp for Italian forests. This is the balance that emerges from the VIII Forestry Forum of Legambiente, presented in Rome: 94,070 hectares burned from January to mid-October, almost double compared to 2024. An area equal to 132,000 football fields. Sicily leads the sad ranking, followed by Calabria, Puglia and Campania.
A figure that tells of a country in difficulty, where the climate crisis and mismanagement add up in a vicious circle of environmental fragility.
The hottest summer, the most fragile forests
According to the European Copernicus programme, the summer of 2025 was the fifth warmest since 1950, with a thermal anomaly of +1.62 °C. Heat waves and droughts have made the forests more vulnerable and expanded the fire front.
But not only do the flames threaten the forestry heritage: in the Alpine forests, the small bark beetle continues to devastate the spruce trees already damaged by the Vaia storm. In Trentino alone, between 2019 and 2024, the loss of 2.7 million cubic meters of wood is estimated.
Forgotten forests: only 18% have a management plan
What makes the situation more serious is poor forestry planning. Just 18% of Italian forests have a management plan, while only 10% are certified.
A structural delay that also weighs on the economy: Italy imports around 80% of the wood needed for its manufacturing, a sector that has 71,500 companies and over 300,000 employees.
As Legambiente points out, forestry remains “underestimated, despite being fundamental for the ecological transition and for implementing the Clean Industrial Deal made in Italy”.
Forests: carbon sinks under attack
Italian forests guard an invisible treasure: 1.24 billion tons of organic carbon. A natural reservoir that mitigates the effects of the climate crisis, but only if ecosystems remain healthy.
Fires, pests and neglect compromise this ability, transforming a climate ally into a source of emissions. For this reason, sustainable management is no longer an option but a necessity.
Ten proposals to reverse the trend
Legambiente presented ten proposals to the Meloni Government, based on three main axes:
“The forestry sector is fundamental for the circular bioeconomy – recalls Stefano Ciafani, national president of Legambiente -. Forests provide renewable raw material and offer opportunities for sustainable development. But Italy must make up for the too many delays accumulated”.
Global deforestation: Italy cannot look the other way
The issue does not only concern national borders. According to the FAO, 10 million hectares of forests are destroyed worldwide every year, mainly for agriculture and intensive livestock farming.
Europe – and with it Italy – has a direct responsibility: the main EU countries import over half of global forestry products. “It is essential – underlines Legambiente – that Italy gives a strong signal against illegal timber trade and speeds up the implementation of the EUDR regulation”.
Despite the critical situation, there are some positive signs: the establishment of the Old Forests Network and the launch of the Carbon Credit Register. But they are still timid steps.
To reverse the trend, we need a long-term vision that recognizes forests not only as an environmental value, but also as a social, economic and cultural one.
