Fire management

 FIRE HAS BEEN A MAJOR INFLUENCE on the development and management of many of the world's ecosystems. Many of which have evolved in response to frequent fires from natural as well as human causes, but most others are negatively affected by wildfire. Every year millions of hectares of the world's forested areas are consumed by fire, which results in enormous economic losses because of loss of life and livelihoods, damage to environment and infrastructure, and high costs of fire suppression activities.

Most wildfires today are caused by people as a result of the misuse of fire for conversion of forests to agricultural lands, maintenance of grazing and agricultural lands, extraction of non-wood forest products, hunting, etc . Fires may also result from personal or land tenure conflicts and negligence. Natural causes play a significant role only in very remote parts of Canada and Russia.

Although fire has been often seen as the primary agent of environment and forest degradation, as a natural process it serves an important function in maintaining the health of certain ecosystems. The conventional view of fire as a destructive agent requiring immediate suppression has given way to the view that fire can also be used to meet land management goals under given ecological conditions.

Better landscape management needed to prevent wildfires

It is vital to prevent wildfires, consider suitable use of fire and of alternatives to fire use throughout the different land uses. For example, large homogeneous forest plantation and housing areas shouldn’t be established in regions with fire-prone vegetation, but combine different landuses to maintain mosaic landscapes with natural firebreaks.               

Special attention should be paid to timing of certain agricultural activities e.g. not to burn agricultural waste during high winds and do the burnings early enough in the spring/dry season before the surrounding landscape gets fire-prone.

Integrated fire management

FAO has coordinated the development of the Fire Management Voluntary Guidelines aimed at helping countries develop an integrated approach to fire management, from prevention and preparedness to suppression and restoration.

The FAO Guidelines advise authorities and other stakeholder groups that fire-fighting should be an integral part of a coherent and balanced policy applied not only to forests but also across other land-uses on the landscape.

 More attention should also be given to monitoring wildfire carbon gas emissions as a potential contributor to climate change.