DEVELOPMENT OF THE WORKSHOP: DAY 2

Session 3 - Fire Information Systems in the Mediterranean

This Session was chaired by Mr Ziad Al Jibawi, Director, Syrian Forestry Department, and consisted also of three presentations.

Mr Jésus San Miguel and Mr Andrea Camia presented the European Forest Fire System (EFFIS) and its components: the EU fire database with Danger Forecast, Active Fire Mapping and Rapid Damage Assessment.

Mr. Enrique Pompei made a presentation on the Italian experience with the cadastre of burned lands, and Mr Khalid Cherki explained how Morocco is developing, with FAO support, its National Fire Information System.

A discussion took place and comments were made on:

• The usefulness of the EFFIS system for regional objectives, like coordination of support from the region to big fire suppression (MIC-Brussels), and as complement to national systems, as well as its usefulness in the absence of a national system.
• Fire danger (EFFIS) vs fire risk (Morocco)
• How to deal with good and bad fires in the information systems
• The general public in Italy is not provided with all fire data, in order to avoid its use by arsonists

Session 4 - Human causes of fires in the Mediterranean

The Session was chaired by Mr Angelo Mariano, Senior Forestry Officer, International Affairs Division, Italian Corpo Forestale dello Stato.

Presentations were made on the causes of fire in Syria (Mr Ziad Al Jibawi), Italy (Mr Giuseppe Vadalà) and Portugal (Mr Paulo Mateus).

Mr. Al Jibawi showed how the number of fires had clearly increased in Syria over the years, but the total area of burned had decreased as a consequence of better fire suppression equipment and more efficient rapid first attack. He also presented a FAO-supported Community-Based Fire Management project.

The presentation for Italy showed some specific fire cases from 2007 in Latina, Peschici and Vieste.

Some specific interesting elements from the presentation by Portugal are shown below.

Fire management in Portugal (Mateus)

Changing paradigm 1: use of fire (fire as an ally) Changing paradigm 2: more responsibilities to the private sector in fire management General 1% tax on fuel to support fire management General belief that arson is the main cause of fire was proven not to be true A national strategy which includes the utilization of forest biomass for energy through a Network of new power stations (goal: 2 Mtons/year by 2012) and of forest biomass for the local production of energy General awareness-raising and extension, but also focused on specific target groups, like shepherds associations.

The discussion in this Session was mainly about the profitability of using wood biomass for energy production.

Session 5 - Cooperation in the Mediterranean

The Session was chaired by Mr Lillo Testasecca, Senior Forestry Officer, International Affairs Division of the Italian Corpo Forestale dello Stato.

The session consisted of presentations in three categories:

• Networks on fire management in the Mediterranean
• Projects on fire management in the Mediterranean
• Cross border cooperation in the Mediterranean

Networks on fire management in the Mediterranean

Mr Ricardo Vélez made a presentation on the past activities of the Silva Mediterranea Working Group on Forest Fire from the 90’s, promoting common databases, training seminars, etc. and later multi- and bilateral cooperation and agreements. The working group has worked together with many institutions like the European Commission, the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM) and the Joint Research Centre in Ispra. One of the latest events was the Regional Meeting for Europe, Southeast Europe, Mediterranean, North Africa and Caucasus during the 4^th International Conference on Wildfires in 2007 in Sevilla, organized jointly with JRC.

Mr Andrea Camia presented the possibilities of cooperation between EFFIS and the Southern Mediterranean countries not yet included in the system. The main conclusion is that EFFIS does not replace national systems, it complements it, and when no national system is available it will also be of use. At the regional level, it will make it possible to better compare and sum the consequences of fire.

Mr Nikola Nikolov (Republic of Macedonia) gave a presentation on the Regional South/East European/Caucasus Wildland Fire Network. Of specific interest is the proposal for a regional strategy on international cooperation in this region with proposed thematic areas (terminology, database, information exchange, prevention and use of fire, early warning, detection and monitoring, suppression, training, policies and strategies, and research). Other activities include pilot projects and national and subregional meetings.

Mr Johann Goldammer (GFMC) gave an extensive overview of the Global Wildland Fire Network (GWFN), and activities of Europe in this network, the UNECE/FAO Integrated Plan of Work on Timber and Forestry, and support to activities in Balkan, Caucasus, Central Asia and Baltic region.

Projects on fire management in the Mediterranean

Ms Lorenza Colletti, Senior Forestry Officer, International Affairs, Corpo Forestale dello Stato, presented the EU FIRE4 project, now known as FIRE5. Ideas on transboundary cooperation on training and preparedness started to develop in 2005 during the XVth Meeting of EU Director-Generals for Civil Protection in London. After the fires of the 2007 summer, with more than 500,000 hectares burned only in Italy and Greece and the loss of around 90 persons, a resolution of the European Parliament came out in September 2007 on fires and floods which underlines some areas for further activity (extraordinary Community Funds, going beyond the EU Monitor Information Center (MIC), better use of the Solidarity Fund, enhanced strategies, more prevention).

The call for the establishment of a EU civil protection force with modules, staff and aircrafts, in order to support national efforts and national cooperation between EU Member States and other countries, led to the development of this project with five leading countries: France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece, and as associated countries: Cyprus, Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta and Slovenia. The main objective of this EU two-years project is the mutual exchange of experts for common training, experience sharing, and communication. The training component includes general training courses on fires and earthquakes hosted by the leading countries (five-day duration, lessons and practical activities); specialized courses for interventions against forest fires and earthquakes (civil protection); seminars for self-training between experts; and exercises (forest fires in Italy in April 2008, earthquakes in Portugal in April 2009) to test mixed staff and equipments.

In Sardinia in April 2008, the SArdinia ARsons DIrect NIxing Actions (SARDINIA) simulation took place, based on real, huge forest fires which had already occurred in the past in highly populated and tourist areas with national specialized staff and tools (Civil Protection, National and Regional Forest Corps, Fire Brigades, Volunteers, Red Cross, etc). Therefore this project will represent the first core of new EU Civil Protection strengthened activities, launched on March 2008 by Communication of the European Commission.

Mr Petteri Vuorinen (FAO) presented the main conclusions from the FAO Global Fire Management Assessment 2006:

Main Conclusions of the Global Fire Management Assessment (FAO)

Expensive equipment alone is inadequate: Awareness-raising and education is critical Distinction between good and bad fires is needed More collaboration between fire authorities inside and between countries is needed Local communities should be involved Fire management is a land management issue (social, economical and environmental)

Mr Vuorinen then briefly explained the different kinds of projects and the main elements of most FAO projects on fire management: development of training, national strategies and awareness-raising, as well as review of legal frameworks. All projects have strong focus on capacity building, Integrated Forest Fire Management (IFFM) and Community-Based Fire Management (CBFiM). Projects had been recently accomplished in Bulgaria, Croatia and Syria, while new projects had started or were ongoing in Morocco, Lebanon and Syria (second phase). Projects are under preparation for the Republic of Macedonia and for Bosnia- Herzegovina. Mr. Vladimir Konstantinov, Head of the Forest Fire Management Sector, Bulgarian State Forestry Agency, explained how the project in Bulgaria laid the basis for the actual ongoing and increasing activities in Bulgaria.

Cross-border cooperation in the Mediterranean

Mr Luciano Massetti, Chief of the Office for the Aeronautical Activity of the Italian Civil Protection, presented technical and institutional problems of cross-border cooperation. His presentation included the Italian forest fire fleet, an overview of the fire events in 2007, the out-of area operations and the lessons learned.

“Prevention is invisible. Aeroplanes are sexy; silviculture is not.” (Colletti)

The contribution from Italy to other countries in the region started in the late 1990s (i.e. France, Spain, Portugal and Greece). At present, two Canadairs are ready to deploy with 3-hour notice and an operational deployment based on 4-day duration

Italy participates at the EU Civil Protection Mechanism which comprises 31 countries: the 27 EU Member States plus Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Croatia. The mechanism facilitates the exchange of teams, experts and dedicated means across national borders.

Lessons Identified during Out of Area Operations (Massetti)

1. Non-standard activation procedures. EU MIC (Monitor Information Center - Bruxelles) Bilateral agreements 2. Unclear definition of Command and Control Authority 3. No entry point of contact fluent in English 4. Lack of fire assessment information 5. Limited Host Nation support Fuel Parking/Ramp space Hangar space for maintenance (if needed) Maps and Flight Information Services Lodging and transportation 6. Undefined Liability Collateral damages Incidents Third Party claim

Mr Kostas Papageorgiou, Forest Fire Protection Officer, Cyprus, made a presentation on cross-border cooperation in Eastern Mediterranean.

The 2007 summer season witnessed unusually big forest fires across Cyprus. Cyprus received assistance in the form of aerial fire-fighting from Lebanon, Israel, Italy and Greece and provided assistance to Greece in the form of ground forces and to Lebanon in the form of a fire-fighting airplane.

As regards Cyprus, the existing collaborations are not based on any formal collaboration agreement. Whenever possible, the different countries provide assistance, mainly in the form of aerial fire-fighting. However, the level of assistance provided is, most of the time, limited as fires are raging at the same time in several countries and the risk of fires is high in other countries. The response time is too long because of the necessary bureaucratic procedures.

The climate change in the Mediterranean region leads to hotter and drier summers and increases forest fire hazard. In fact, following the prolonged water-scarce conditions of 2007, the probability of intense fire events was estimated to be quite high. As a consequence, the existing national forest fire-fighting systems most probably will not be able to withstand their own future fires, which are expected to increase in number, size and frequency, and therefore the cross-border assistance, especially in air means, will be very limited. Under these conditions, the need for official regional collaboration agreements between the neighbouring countries appears imperative.

Regional cooperation and agreements (Papageorgiou)

The need for official regional collaboration agreements between the neighbouring countries appears imperative. Mutual assistance should not only be based on air means but also on ground forces, exchange of experts, knowledge and experiences. Collaboration must cover not only fire suppression but also prevention. A number of Coordination Centres must be established. They should operate in selected Mediterranean countries where the fire risk is high and be located at geographically strategic points. Necessary economic resources for the establishment and maintenance of these centres should be ensured.

Mr Ricardo Vélez described the specific agreement between Portugal and Spain concerning mutual assistance in the field of forest fires in the border area between the two countries. As the border area has been defined 15 km at both sides of the border, requests for assistance for fires outside the border area will have to come from and go to the central authorities. Within the border areas, however, regional or local fire authorities can directly request assistance across the border to the regional or local fire authority. A fire detected by one country in the border area of the other country, with high probability of crossing the border, will cause the local or regional fire authority to inform the authorities on the other side of the border and even dispatch resources to suppress the fire on the other side of the border. In all cases, both national authorities and the EC Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC) will be informed. This agreement goes together with many pre-fire season preparation activities, including joint exercises before the fire season.

A similar bilateral agreement will be soon signed between Italy and France.