FAO Activities in Forest Fire Management
Report on Progress and Future Plans
Forest Resources Division, Forestry Department
November 2002
1.Background.
In July and August 2000, the issue of international collaboration in the field of forest fires was discussed between the Director-General of FAO and H.E. the Minister of Agriculture of Greece, Mr. Yiorgos Anomeritis. The Director-General, in summing up earlier discussions in his letter to the Minister dated 8 August 2000, noted: “I welcome the proposalto strengthen the coordinationof forest fire control. In line with its mandate and the recommendations of the Meeting on Public Policies Affecting Forest Fires, held in Rome in October 1998, FAO is ready to continue supporting countries to strengthen national response capacities in this field, and to help countries marshal the resources needed to deal with this major cause of environmental degradation.”
In follow-up to the above, and in line with the approved work programme and needs identified in two high-level consultancies (2000, 2001[1]) and an FAO/ITTO International Expert Meeting on Forest Fire Management held in March 2001[2], FAO has helped review the development of mechanisms for the establishment of inter-country agreements aimed at coordinating forest fire fighting efforts among countries and, where feasible, the development of bilateral arrangements by which countries might share resources, personnel and equipment in situations of emergency.
The present report briefly summarizes action taken in response to the proposal of the Greek Minister and subsequent requests by FAO Statutory and Governing Bodies (section 2). It also provides a summary review of other relevant programmes and activities in forest fire management executed by FAO (Section 3).
It is noted that all action taken by FAO is carried out in close collaboration with national institutions in Member Countries, and is coordinated with that of partner organizations within and outside of the UN System.
Further, it is noted that the position of Forestry Officer (Forest Fire Management), established in the present biennium, was filled in August 2002.
2.Action related to international forest fire management agreements and
collaboration among countries in forest fire prediction and control
2.1Progress
Following recommendations of the March 2001 Expert Meeting mentioned above endorsed by the 15th Session of the Committee on Forestry, and in direct follow-up to the proposals of the Greek Minister of Agriculture in 2000, a study was carried out which, (i) identified and classified existing national and sub- national legislation on forest fire management at global level; (ii) up-dated the inventory of international agreements on forest fires maintained by FAO; and (iii) prepared an outline for developing forest fire agreements on a bilateral or multilateral basis; Report[3].
The study was based on response to questionnaires sent to national governments through FAO Representatives in all Member Countries, and on information identified through a systematic search in FAOLEX. The findings of the study can be accessed both in printed form (see footnote 3) and on-line, through the Forestry Department Homepage on Forest Fires (see: Annex1; and and through FAOLEX (see:
As an integral part of the study, a listing was developed entitled, “Standard Entries Used to Identify Common Elements in International Agreements on Forest Fires”. This document, which can serve as a “Checklist” of issues which need to be considered, will support countries which wish to develop new forest fire collaboration agreements, or which want to review or up-date existing agreements. A clickable link to related, “Frequently Asked Questions”, is also available on the Web.
The chart on Fire Seasons, by region and country, which was originally developed in the course of the consultancies mentioned above, is being regularly up-dated to facilitate identification of available support (staff, equipment) in case of forest fire emergencies
2.2Planned Future Activities
The following work is on-going and planned for the coming future in regard to international forest fire agreements and support to related within-country action:
- Up-dating legal information: the information available to FAO on international agreements and national legislation on forest fire management will be regularly up-dated with a view to maintaining a complete and reliable database of legal texts and information on forest fire.
- Developing guidelines for international agreements: the available outline, or “checklist of issues” to be considered when developing international agreements, is being further elaborated in the form of detailed guidelines; and operational guidelines and operating plans for implementing forest fire agreements are being prepared.
- Assessing national legislation: national legislation dealing with forest fires that was identified in the 2002 study is being further reviewed and assessed with a view to evaluating its effectiveness and to better advice member countries on the revision or formulation of national legislation on forest fires.
3.Other activities in forest fire management
The below normative and field activities provide the framework within which action in (2) above is carried out, and underpin FAO support to countries in forest fire management,
3.1International Coordination
-Close collaboration with a large number of Governmental and non-Governmental agencies, organizations and mechanisms, including notably: the Global Fire Monitoring Centre (GFMC), UNEP, ITTO, IUFRO, CIFOR, IUCN, WWF and the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM).
-Participation in the activities of the Working Group on Wildland Fire of the UN Inter-Agency Task Force for Disaster Reduction (ISDR); and the FAO/ECE/ILO Team of Specialists on Forest Fires.
-Technical and logistical support to the organization of an FAO/ECE/ILO Conference on Forest Fire Management and International Cooperation in Fire Emergencies in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Balkans and Adjoining Regions of the Near East and Central Asia (Antalya, Turkey 15-19 April 2003); the 3rd International Wildland Fire Conference organized within the framework of the North American Forests Commission (Sydney, Australia 4-8 October 2003); and the XII World Forestry Congress (Montreal, Canada 21-28 September 2003). Activities include the preparation of overview papers for these events and serving as technical Secretary for key sessions.
-Regular monitoring and reporting on forest fire management programmes, activities and priorities to FAO Statutory Bodies; the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF); the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF); and through these fora, and directly through the FAO Network of Forest Fire Experts, to the international forest fire community in general.
3.2Technical Support, FAO Field Programme
-Development of a Template for the formulation of projects on forest fire management, prepared with a view to support countries in the preparation of TCP and emergency projects (available on-line); development of an expanded checklist to support in-country project formulation and development in this field (in progress).
-Technical guidance to countries and backstopping of forest fire Technical Cooperation Projects (TCP) and emergency projects. Such projects are presently under way, or have recently been finalized, in Cuba, Cyprus, Gambia, Lao, India, P.R.China, Honduras, Turkey, Bulgaria, Ethiopia and Mongolia; in the latter two, partnership programmes have provided the backbone for activities (TCDC, retired experts). Forest Fire projects are in the pipeline and in varying stages of development and approval, i.a. in Syria and the Seychelles.
3.3Dissemination of Information
-Collaboration with the Forest Department of Spain and CIHEAM in the preparation and wide dissemination of a Training Video on forest fire management in English, French and Spanish. Translation and adaptation to conditions of countries in the Near East of two Training Videos on forest fire management, prepared within the framework of FAO coordinated project, GCP/SYR/007/ITA (in progress).
-Preparation of country forest fire profiles, and their wide dissemination through CD-Rom and the Web; continuing up-dating and revision of information available through contacts with and feedback from countries concerned.
-Preparation of a chapter on forest fire management within the framework of the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2000, published in Forestry Paper 140 (English, French and Spanish; Arabic in preparation; hard copy and web-version).
-Finalization of the FAO Guidelines on Fire Management in Temperate and Boreal Forests, in press (prepared to complement already existing, similar guidelines for the tropics); completion of a fully revised, tri-lingual FAO Terminology on Forest Fires (previous version published as FAO Forestry Paper 70)- presently with outside reviewers.
-Preparation of Information Notes on forest fire management for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg; and on forest fires and HIV/Aids, to be published within the framework of FAOs programme on Forestry and Food Security.
-Publication and wide dissemination on the Report on FAO/ITTO Expert Meeting on forest fire management, March 2001 (English, French, Spanish, Arabic and Chinese);
-Follow-up Report to: FAO/ITTO International Expert Meeting on Forest Fire Management, October 2001;
-Information Note on forest fire management and FAO activities prepared, distributed at WSSD, Johannesburg;
-Updating FAO Forest Fire Website, including active links to above;
-GFMC and FAO is disseminating fire information through the nine (9) Regional Wildland Fire Networks with a global coverage;
-Global information on fire management is also disseminated through the International Forest Fire News (IFFN) published by the Team of Specialists on Forest Fire of the joint FAO/ECE/ILO Committee on Forest Technology, Management and Training; Timber Section UN-ECE Trade Division and the GFMC. (
ANNEX 1.
………………………………………..etc
(See Webpage:
[1]SeeReports by consultant J. Troensegaard. FAO, Forest Resources Division, Sept. 2000; and consultants R.W. Mutch and M. Bors; FAO Forest Resources Division, Oct. 2001 (E, F, S).
[2]See Report on the FAO/ITTO International Expert Meeting on Forest Fire Management. Rome, Italy 7-9 March 2001. FAO Forest Resources Division (E, F,S, A,C).
[3] “Legal Frameworks for Forest Fire Management: International Agreements and National Legislation”.
FAO Forest Resources Division, June 2002 (E, other language versions in preparation).