# Protected forest affected by wildfire: sources and scope

Checked: 29 October 2026. Original chart and calculations: NuraGaze.

## Annual series

The chart reproduces ISPRA's reported **AB For** (forest area burned) in the
aggregate **Aree Protette** row of each full-calendar-year report. These are
reported estimates for Italy, not global totals or measurements of permanent
tree-cover loss. `app/lib/protectedForest.json` supplies the chart, accessible
article table and downloadable CSV.

| Year | Published figure | Chart value (hectares) | Source |
| --- | ---: | ---: | --- |
| 2023 | 6,732 ha | 6,732 | [ISPRA annual report, table 2.6, printed p. 27 / PDF p. 31](https://www.isprambiente.gov.it/files2025/progetti/report_incendi_2023_ispra.pdf) |
| 2024 | 3,232 ha | 3,232 | [ISPRA annual report, table 2.8, printed p. 24 / PDF p. 28](https://www.isprambiente.gov.it/files2025/attivita/report_incendi_2024_ispra.pdf) |
| 2025 | 46.96 km² | 4,696 | [ISPRA annual report, table 3.8, printed p. 29 / PDF p. 34](https://www.isprambiente.gov.it/files2026/attivita/ecosistemiedincendiboschivi_20225_signed.pdf) |

The unusual `20225` in the 2025 report's URL is the publisher's filename. The
document itself is titled *Ecosistemi terrestri ed incendi boschivi in Italia:
Anno 2025*, Rapporti CSA n. 01-2026.

One square kilometre equals 100 hectares. The 2025 number is converted directly
from the published 46.96 km², not reconstructed from a rounded percentage.
The chart starts at zero. Orange identifies 2025; annual ordering is chronological.
The three observations illustrate variation and do not establish a long-term trend.

## Context and calculations

- ISPRA reports 123.06 km² (12,306 ha) of forest burned nationally in 2025
  (preface and section 3.2). The protected-area aggregate is about 38.2% of this.
  The article uses the agency's rounded **38%**, also stated in its
  [2025 findings](https://www.isprambiente.gov.it/it/news/incendi-boschivi-nel-2025-aumenta-la-superficie-andata-in-fumo-necessario-investire-nella-prevenzione).
- For 2024, 3,232 / 10,314 × 100 is approximately 31.3%; ISPRA reports **31%**.
  This is the protected share of burned forest, not the burned share of all
  protected forest.
- Increase from 2024 to 2025: (4,696 − 3,232) / 3,232 × 100 ≈ **45.3%**, rounded
  to 45% in the article.
- All land burned within protected areas in 2025: 296.63 km² = **29,663 ha**
  (table 3.8). Forest accounts for 4,696 / 29,663 × 100 ≈ **15.8%**, rounded
  to 16%. This has a different denominator from the 38% figure.

## Overlap and source discrepancies

Protected-area designations overlap. The article uses the published aggregate
rows and does not add up Natura 2000, national parks or other categories.

There are internal inconsistencies in ISPRA's category breakdowns: the 2024
Natura 2000 forest total (3,282 ha, table 2.9) exceeds the all-protected aggregate
(3,232 ha, table 2.8); the same occurs in 2025 (50.28 km² in table 3.9 versus
46.96 km² in table 3.8). Overlap alone cannot explain a subset exceeding its
union. These discrepancies cannot be resolved from the reports, so no
category ranking or reconstructed all-protected total is presented here.
The main aggregates are reproduced **as reported**; their approximate shares
agree with ISPRA's headline findings of 31% in 2024 and 38% in 2025. The article
links these limitations immediately below its table.

The 2023 report has a separate discrepancy between its national forest total
in the text and in table 2.2. The article does not use that national total or
calculate a 2023 protected share.

ISPRA combines EFFIS burned-area mapping with its ECM-F4 forest classification
and protected-area boundaries. Estimates can differ from field-based incident
records and from other forest definitions. EFFIS warns that its burned-area
product can include prescribed/environmental burns and may miss features below
the imagery's spatial resolution. See its
[Rapid Damage Assessment documentation](https://forest-fire.emergency.copernicus.eu/about-effis/technical-background/rapid-damage-assessment).

## Reuse and regeneration

Data credit: ISPRA, *Ecosistemi terrestri ed incendi boschivi in Italia*, annual
reports for 2023, 2024 and 2025. The chart is an original rendering of reported
figures. No ISPRA photograph or map is reproduced; no endorsement is implied.

Regenerate the chart assets and CSV with:

```sh
python3 scripts/generate-protected-forest-chart.py
```

Requires Matplotlib. This script does not change source data or access the
network. The website has no additional runtime dependency.