Annexes

Annex 1: Conventions, agreements and declarations

Conventions

• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC);

• United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD);

• Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD);

• Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES, 1975);

• Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Helsinki, 1992)

• Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Islamic Republic of Iran, 1971);

• Other applicable rules of international law, including the respective obligations of governments pursuant to international agreements to which they are party.

United Nations declarations and statements

• Millennium Declaration (United Nations General Assembly, New York, 2000) to uphold human dignity, equity, poverty eradication, protection of the common environment, human rights, democracy, gender equality, good governance and the formation of a global partnership for development;

• Millennium Development Goals (MDGs – in the Millenium Declaration, New York, 2000), in particular Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women; Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability; and Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development;

• Rio Declaration on Environment and Development and Agenda 21, adopted by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED – Rio de Janeiro, 1992), in particular Chapter 11 of Agenda 21 on combating deforestation;

• Intergovernmental Panel on Forests (IPF – 1995–1997) and Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IFF – 1997–2000) proposals for action and the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) recommendations (2000 to present);

• Non-Legally Binding Authoritative Statement of Principles for a Global Consensus on the Management, Conservation and Sustainable Development of all Types of Forests (Forest Principles – UNCED, Rio de Janeiro, 1992)

• The Tehran Process (Tehran, 1999) on sustainable forest management in low forest cover countries (LFCCs);

• World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD, Johannesburg, 2002), in particular the Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development, Commitment to Sustainable Development, paragraph 19: Fight against natural disasters; and the Plan of Implementation, Chapter IV: Protecting and managing the natural resource base of economic and social development;

• World Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction (Yokohama, Japan, 1994) and World Conference on Disaster Reduction (Kobe, Hyogo, Japan, 2005); Yokohama Strategy and Plan of Action for a Safer World (1994) and Hyogo Framework for Action (2005), both providing a framework of strategic and systematic approaches to reducing vulnerability to and risk of hazards.

Targeted declarations addressing fire research, management and policies

The GFMC Web site for the 3^rd International Wildland Fire Summit¹ includes the outputs of the summit, all preceding targeted decisions, recommendations and outputs of earlier international conferences and other background materials, notably:

• Recommendations of the fire community at the World Conference for Natural Disaster Reduction (Yokohama, Japan, 23–27 May 1994) (event within the United Nations International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction)

• Declaration of the 1995 Chapman Conference on Biomass Burning and Global Change (Williamsburg, Virginia, USA, 13–17 March 1995) (sponsored by the American Geophysical Union)

• ECE/FAO/ILO Conference on Forest, Fire, and Global Change (Shushenskoe, Russian Federation, 4–9 August 1996)

• Second International Wildland Fire Conference (Vancouver, Canada, 25–30 May 1997) (hosted by the Forest Protection Branch, British Columbia Forest Service)

Annex 2: Incident Command System

This annex is a condensed and modified version of Paper 3, The Incident Management System, adopted by the International Wildland Fire Summit (Sydney, Australia, 2005).²

The complexity of incident management, coupled with the growing need for multiagency involvement at incidents, has increased the need for a standard, interagency incident management system, not only within countries/states, but increasingly internationally. It is becoming ever more important to base international agreements on a common incident management system.

The Incident Command System (ICS) may need to be adapted to suit a particular country’s existing political, administrative or cultural systems, customs and values. Where the primary purpose is to enhance emergency management within a country, such adaptations are not only beneficial, but may be essential to the adoption of the system. Given that ICS is a proven model in many countries, and given that training materials are freely available, there is considerable benefit to be gained by its adoption.

The ICS framework is an effective forum in which interagency emergency management issues can be addressed. By establishing a unified command of the respective agency/organizational representatives at a single interagency incident command location, the following advantages are achieved:

• One set of objectives is developed for the entire incident.

• A collective approach is taken to developing strategies to achieve incident objectives.

• Information flow and coordination are improved between all jurisdictions and agencies involved in the incident.

• All agencies with responsibility for the incident have an understanding of each other’s priorities and restrictions.

• No agency’s authority or legal requirements are compromised or neglected.

• Each agency is fully aware of the plan, actions and constraints of other agencies.

• The combined effects of all agencies are optimized as they perform their respective assignments under a single Incident action plan.

• Duplication of effort is reduced or eliminated, thus reducing costs and the chance of frustration and/or conflict.

The ICS structure is based on the following principles:

• Common terminology: ICS terminology is standard and is consistent among all agencies involved.

• Modular organization: ICS structure can be scaled up to multiple layers that are implemented to meet the complexity and extent of the incident.

• Integrated communications: ICS requires a common communications plan, standard operating procedures, clear text, common frequencies and common terminology.

• Consolidated incident action plans: action plans describe response goals, operational objectives and support activities.

• Manageable span of control: a ‘manageable span’ is defined as the number of individuals or functions one person can manage effectively. In ICS, the span of control for any person falls within a range of three to seven resources, with five being the optimum.

• Designated incident facilities: these have clearly defined functions to assist in the effective management of the incident.

• Comprehensive resource management: the total resource is managed across all organizations deployed at an incident, including the maximizing of personnel safety.

The ICS incident organization structure is built around four major components:

• control – management of the incident;

• planning – collection and analysis of incident information and planning of response activities;

• operations – direction of resources in combating the incident;

• logistics – provision of facilities, services and materials required to combat the incident.

These four components are the foundation upon which ICS organization is built. They apply during a routine emergency, when preparing for a major event, or when managing a response to a major disaster. The ICS structure can be expanded or contracted to manage any type and size of incident.

Conclusions

Safety, effectiveness and efficiency are achievable when a seamless integration of agencies is possible for a local-level incident as well as for international deployment to assist a country in need. A globally implemented ICS will improve firefighter safety, efficiency and effectiveness in management response. ICS provides the model for command, control and coordination of an emergency response. It is a means of coordinating the efforts of agencies as they work towards the common goal of stabilizing an incident and protecting life, property and the environment. It also reduces the risk of agency overlap and potential confusion at an emergency owing to poor understanding and inadequate coordination.

It is critical that a common global incident management system is adopted, enabling any assistance to function quickly and effectively. ICS is the tool that can achieve that goal.

Annex 3: International agreements template

This annex is a condensed and modified version of Paper 2, International Wildland Fire Management Cooperation Agreements Template, adopted by the International Wildland Fire Summit (Sydney, Australia, 2005).³ It is an outline of issues to be considered when countries are developing international cooperative agreements. There may be other areas, as well, that need definition and consideration. The template is drawn from an annex of FAO (2004).⁴ This FAO document provides excellent reference materials, which should be reviewed prior to entering into international agreements.

Outline for international cooperative agreements

1. Parties to the agreement

• includes governmental and non-governmental agencies and organizations at a variety of levels;

2. Purpose

• defines areas and forms of cooperation;

• defines the scope of the cooperation;

3. Definition of terms

• defines terms used in the agreement;

4. Expenses and costs

• defines how personnel costs will be set for payments;

• defines how equipment cost use will be set;

• sets the procedures, amount and criteria for reimbursement of costs;

• Under certain agreements, all parties may agree to assist each other on a mutual aid, non-reimbursable basis.

5. Information and coordination

• defines the protocols and methods for coordinating and exchanging information;

• defines the types, amount and timing of information exchange;

• sets the notification procedures for emergencies or for other significant events;

• defines methods of coordination and under what organizational structure the work will take place;

6. Liabilities, claims and compensation

• lists and defines how and when the cross-waivers and exemptions are used;

• lists and defines those areas or circumstances in which the exemptions do not apply;

• outlines remediation for third-party damage;

• defines the protocols and procedures for medical assistance and possible evacuation of injured personnel;

• defines the timing, levels and limitations of compensation for injury or death;

• defines privileges and immunities of the assisting personnel;

7. Operating plans/operational guidelines

• provides for operating plans/operational guidelines – Such plans and guidelines are a critical component of all cooperative agreements. They should be carefully crafted and reviewed by all parties to the agreement.

8. Border crossings

• sets protocols and procedures for border-crossing, immigration and customs procedures;

9. Link to disaster management plan for the receiving country

10. General provisions

• entry into force of the agreement – defines when agreement is activated;

• specifies how long the agreement will remain in force;

• defines how countries or organizations can withdraw from the agreement;

• defines under what circumstances the agreement will terminate;

• provides understandings and interpretations for countries and organizations concerning the circumstances and limitations under which each party is entering into the agreement;

• defines the method of dispute resolution;

• defines when and how amendments to the agreement may be submitted, reviewed and acted upon;

11. Standard operational procedures

12. Other provisions

• provides the opportunity for any country, agency or organization signing this agreement to define other areas of cooperation;

13. Participating countries/agencies/organizations signature page

• It is important that all potential participants review and confirm their authorities to sign such an agreement.

Annex 4: Glossary

Many of the terms are from FAO and GFMC (2003),⁵ with some additions or modifications to the original definitions.

Community-based fire management (CBFiM)

Fire management approach based on the inclusion of local communities in the proper application of fire, fire prevention, and in preparedness and suppression of wildfires. CBFiM approaches can play a significant role in fire management, especially in most parts of the world where human-based ignitions are the primary source of wildfires that affect livelihood, health and security of people. The activities and knowledge that communities generally practise and apply are primarily those associated with prevention. They include planning and supervision of activities, joint action for prescribed fire and fire monitoring and response, applying sanctions, and providing support to individuals to enhance their fire management tasks.

Fire danger

A general term used to express an assessment of both fixed and variable factors of the fire environment that determine the ease of ignition, rate of spread, difficulty of control and fire impact – often expressed as an index.

Fire danger rating

A component of a fire management system that integrates the effects of selected fire danger factors into one or more qualitative or numerical indices of current protection needs.

Fire-dependent ecosystems

Fire is essential in maintaining predominant ecosystem composition, structure, function and extent. If fire is removed, or if a fire regime is altered beyond its historical range of variability, the ecosystem changes to something else; dependent species and their habitats decline or disappear. Vegetation is fire-prone and highly flammable. Ecosystem structure and plant architecture facilitate fire spread. Boundaries between fire-dependent and fire-independent ecosystems are largely determined by the relative continuity of burnable fuels or probability of fire-enabling climatic conditions.

Fire hazard

(1) A fuel complex, defined by volume, type, condition, arrangement and location, that determines the degree both of ease of ignition and of fire suppression difficulty; (2) a measure of that part of the fire danger contributed by the fuels available for burning. Fire hazard Is worked out from their relative amount, type and condition, particularly their moisture content.

Fire-independent ecosystems

Fires characteristically would not occur because of a lack of fuel and/or ignition sources. Fire regimes can be altered by a change in fuels (e.g. invasive species) or ecologically inappropriate human-caused ignitions.

Fire management

All activities required for the protection of burnable forest and other vegetation values from fire, and the use of fire to meet land management goals and objectives. It involves the strategic integration of such factors as knowledge of fire regimes, probable fire effects, values at risk, level of forest protection required, cost of fire-related activities, and prescribed fire technology into multiple-use planning, decision-making and day-to-day activities to accomplish stated resource management objectives.

Fire management plan

(1) A statement, for a specific area, of fire policy and prescribed action; (2) the systematic, technological, and administrative management process of determining the organization, facilities, resources and procedures required to protect people, property and forest areas from fire and to use fire to accomplish forest management and other land-use objectives (cf. fire prevention plan or fire campaign, presuppression planning, pre-attack plan, fire suppression plan, end-of-season appraisal).

Fire prevention

All measures in fire management, fuel management, forest management, forest utilization and concerning the land users and the general public, including law enforcement, that may result in the prevention of outbreak of fires or the reduction of fire severity and spread.

Fire protection

All actions taken to limit the adverse environmental, social, political, cultural and economic effects of fire.

Fire regime

The patterns of fire occurrence, size and severity – and sometimes vegetation and fire effects as well – in a given area or ecosystem. It integrates various fire characteristics. A natural fire regime is the total pattern of fires over time that is characteristic of a natural region or ecosystem. The classification of fire regimes includes variations in ignition, fire intensity and behaviour, typical fire size, fire return intervals and ecological effects.

Fire season

(1) Period(s) of the year during which fires are likely to occur and affect resources sufficiently to warrant organized fire management activities; (2) a legally enacted time during which burning activities are regulated by state or local authority.

Fire-sensitive ecosystems

Ecosystem structure and composition tend to inhibit ignition and fire spread. The majority of species generally lack adaptations to respond positively to fire. Fire can influence ecosystem structure, relative abundance of species and/or limit ecosystem extent, or may occur naturally very infrequently or during extreme climatic events. Fire may create habitats for key species by creating gaps, regeneration niches or by initiating or affecting succession. If fires are too frequent or too large, they can be damaging and cause ecosystem shifts to more fire-prone vegetation. Some fire-sensitive ecosystems are also known as fire-influenced, particularly those adjacent to fire-dependent ecosystems.

Fire suppression

All activities concerned with controlling and extinguishing a fire following its detection (synonyms: fire control, firefighting).

Fuel

All combustible organic material in forests and other vegetation types, including agricultural biomass such as grass, branches and wood, infrastructure in rural or urban areas, which create heat during the combustion process.

Fuel management

Act or practice of controlling flammability and reducing resistance to control of fuels through mechanical, chemical, biological or manual means, or by fire, in support of land management objectives.

Fuel reduction

Manipulation, including combustion, or removal of fuels to reduce the likelihood of ignition, potential fire intensity and/or to lessen potential damage and resistance to control.

Incident Command System (ICS)

A standardized, on-scene emergency management concept specifically designed to allow its user(s) to adopt an integrated organizational structure equal to the complexity and demands of single or multiple incidents, without being hindered by jurisdictional boundaries.

Planned fire

This term is synonymous with prescribed fire and has the same definition. A planned fire is a management-ignited fire or a wildfire that burns within prescription, i.e. the fire is confined to a predetermined area and produces the fire behaviour and characteristics required to attain planned fire treatment and/or resource management objectives. The act or procedure of setting a prescribed fire is called prescribed burning (cf. prescribed burning, prescribed fire).

Prescribed burning

Controlled application of fire to vegetation in either their natural or modified state, under specified environmental conditions, which allow the fire to be confined to a predetermined area and at the same time to produce the intensity of heat and rate of spread required to attain planned resource management objectives (cf. prescribed fire). Note: this term has replaced the earlier term ‘controlled burning’.

Prescribed fire

A management-ignited fire or a wildfire that burns within prescription, i.e. the fire is confined to a predetermined area and produces the fire behaviour and fire characteristics required to attain planned fire treatment and/or resource management objectives. The act or procedure of setting a prescribed fire is called prescribed burning (cf. prescribed burning, planned fire).

Prescription

Written statement defining the objectives to be attained as well as the conditions of temperature, humidity, wind direction and speed, fuel moisture and soil moisture under which a fire will be allowed to burn. A prescription is generally expressed as acceptable ranges of the prescription elements and the limit of the geographic area to be covered.

Rehabilitation

The activities necessary to repair damage or disturbance caused by wildfire or the wildfire suppression activity (cf. restoration).

Restoration

Restoration of biophysical capacity of ecosystems to previous (desired) conditions. Restoration includes rehabilitation measures after fire or prescribed burning where certain fire effects are desired (cf. rehabilitation).

Risk

(1) The probability of fire initiation due to the presence and activity of a causative agent; (2) a causative agent.

Smoke management

The application of knowledge of fire behaviour and meteorological processes to minimize air-quality degradation during prescribed fires.

Wildfire

Any unplanned and uncontrolled wildland fire that, regardless of ignition source, may require suppression response or other action according to agency policy.

Annex 5: Publications available on fire management

Fire Management Working Papers: Thematic Paper series

Note: In code “Working Paper FFM/xx”, “x” indicates the WP series number and a suffix E, F or S indicates: E = English, F = French, S = Spanish, in case of multilingual papers. No suffix indicates E only.

Available at the Fire Management Web site: www.fao.org/forestry/site/35853/en

¹ Fire Management and Sustainable Development: Strengthening international cooperation to reduce the negative impacts of wildfires on humanity and the global environment (Sydney, Australia, 8 October 2003 – www.fire.uni-freiburg.de/summit-2003/introduction.htm).

² Dudfield, M. and Latapie, B. 2003. Outcomes of the International Wildland Fire Summit, Sydney, Australia, 8 October 2003, Part IV: Strategic Paper, Incident Command System (ICS). International Forest Fire News, 29: 15–19 (available at www.fire.uni-freiburg.de/iffn/iffn_29/IWFS-3-Paper-3.pdf).

³ Frey, T. and Vélez-Muñoz, R. 2003. Outcomes of the International Wildland Fire Summit, Sydney, Australia, 8 October 2003, Part III: Strategic Paper, International Wildland Fire Management Agreements Template. International Forest Fire News, 29: 10–14, (available at www.fire.uni-freiburg.de/iffn/iffn_29/IWFS-2-Paper-2.pdf).

⁴ FAO. 2004. Legal frameworks for forest fire management: international agreements and national legislation. Follow-up report to FAO/ITTO International Expert Meeting on Forest Fire Management, March 2001. Forest Protection Working Papers, Working Paper FFM/3/E. Rome (available at www.fao.org/forestry/site/firemanagement/en/ or www.fire.uni-freiburg.de/emergency/int_agree.htm). (unpublished)

⁵ FAO and GFMC. 2003. FAO wildland fire management terminology, 1986, updated jointly with GFMC (available at www.fire.uni-freiburg.de/literature/glossary.htm).