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State Audit Office report: Macedonia’s protection and rescue system is not ready for disasters

Growing exposure to natural hazards, particularly forest fires, floods and extreme weather, has highlighted shortcomings in Macedonia’s protection and rescue system. According to a report by the State Audit Office, the country does not always have the necessary strategic, institutional and operational preparedness to respond effectively to disasters.

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Auditors’ inspections identified problems in strategic planning, inter-institutional coordination and resource management. They also found that human and material capacities are insufficient, while investment in modernization and equipment remains limited.

Forest fires rank among the greatest disaster risks, partly because of the impact of climate change. Data from the 2024 Early Warning Report on Forest Fires in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, prepared by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre as part of the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), show that 97,660 hectares were burned in Macedonia during 2024. This is the largest area recorded in the past decade and exceeds the total area burned in the six preceding years combined. The data were collected through satellite observations under the Copernicus programme.

Meanwhile, data from the public enterprise “National Forests” show that 82,714 hectares were burned between 2023 and 2025. During this period, 914,657 m³ of timber were also destroyed, while financial losses reached €133,663,967. In 2024 alone, the damage was estimated at €83,121,333.

The system’s shortcomings and the need for reforms had also been identified in an assessment conducted by the EU through the European Civil Protection Mechanism in 2018. Although several initiatives were undertaken afterward, the reforms had not been implemented by the time of the audit. The State Audit Office also found that a national protection and rescue strategy had not been adopted—one that would define the objectives and priorities to remain in force until 2018./Telegrafi/