Once fires are raging, they can be very difficult to stop. So just as it is better to prevent illness through a change of diet and lifestyle rather than ending up in hospital, stopping forest fires from starting is more effective than trying to suppress them, writes Sten B. Nilsson. [Shutterstock / Christian Roberts-Olsen]
The EU’s proposed Forest Monitoring Law is just one of a raft of measures that could help avert catastrophic forest fires, writes professor Sten B. Nilsson.
Professor Sten B. Nilsson is an expert on boreal forests policy and global forest sector analysis. He has authored or co-authored around 400 scientific papers, and contributed to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports.
Europe is getting a foretaste of life in a warming world.
Heat records have tumbled this summer as fires have raged across tens of thousands of hectares of forest, leaving devastation in their wake. The need to make steep cuts in emissions could not be clearer.
Yet, with the global average temperature already 1.1 °C higher than at the start of the industrial era, it is also clear that we must redouble our efforts to prevent forest fires.
Once fires are raging, they can be very difficult to stop. So just as it is better to prevent illness through a change of diet and lifestyle rather than ending up in hospital, stopping forest fires from starting is more effective than trying to suppress them.
The number of fires in the European Union so far this year has quadrupled compared to the average over the past 15 years.
So the question of what the EU can do to support the member states facing this increased risk is particularly urgent – as is the question of what member states themselves can do.
Information gap
First, some important context on forest fires.
As counterintuitive as it may seem, forest fires are not inherently bad but are actually an important part of forests’ ecosystems, which can contribute to their long-term health.
However, the out-of-control fires that have broken out across Europe do not fit this mould and pose grave dangers to life, property and nature.
It is also true that while extreme temperatures are driving forest fires across the EU, they are usually started by lightning or people – the latter through traditional vegetation management, as well as arson and other reckless behaviour.
The situation is aggravated by the fact that in many EU countries, the rural population is ageing and declining, meaning there is less monitoring and stocktaking of forests in the countryside in general, which increases the risk of fires spreading.
Therefore we need far more detailed information about the distribution of fire risks in the landscapes where fires are most common and comprehensive information about the forests to feed the models which are used to assess possible developments of fires and fire-fighting strategies.
In practical terms, this includes information and knowledge about the forests to build forest fire lanes – gaps in vegetation to slow or stop wildfires – and identify where we have available water and may have to build water ponds. euractiv - link - Sten B. Nilsson - link - more like this (fires) - link - more like this (climate change) - link - more like this (EU) - link
Europe is getting a foretaste of life in a warming world.
Heat records have tumbled this summer as fires have raged across tens of thousands of hectares of forest, leaving devastation in their wake. The need to make steep cuts in emissions could not be clearer.
Yet, with the global average temperature already 1.1 °C higher than at the start of the industrial era, it is also clear that we must redouble our efforts to prevent forest fires.
Once fires are raging, they can be very difficult to stop. So just as it is better to prevent illness through a change of diet and lifestyle rather than ending up in hospital, stopping forest fires from starting is more effective than trying to suppress them.
The number of fires in the European Union so far this year has quadrupled compared to the average over the past 15 years.
So the question of what the EU can do to support the member states facing this increased risk is particularly urgent – as is the question of what member states themselves can do.
Information gap
First, some important context on forest fires.
As counterintuitive as it may seem, forest fires are not inherently bad but are actually an important part of forests’ ecosystems, which can contribute to their long-term health.
However, the out-of-control fires that have broken out across Europe do not fit this mould and pose grave dangers to life, property and nature.
It is also true that while extreme temperatures are driving forest fires across the EU, they are usually started by lightning or people – the latter through traditional vegetation management, as well as arson and other reckless behaviour.
The situation is aggravated by the fact that in many EU countries, the rural population is ageing and declining, meaning there is less monitoring and stocktaking of forests in the countryside in general, which increases the risk of fires spreading.
Therefore we need far more detailed information about the distribution of fire risks in the landscapes where fires are most common and comprehensive information about the forests to feed the models which are used to assess possible developments of fires and fire-fighting strategies.
In practical terms, this includes information and knowledge about the forests to build forest fire lanes – gaps in vegetation to slow or stop wildfires – and identify where we have available water and may have to build water ponds. euractiv - link - Sten B. Nilsson - link - more like this (fires) - link - more like this (climate change) - link - more like this (EU) - link
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