The number of uncontrolled forest fires could increase by 30% by 2050 and 50% by the end of the century and governments are not investing enough in prevention.
Posted at 1:49 p.m.
This is according to a new report from the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the GRID center – Arendal released on Wednesday, which highlights the role of climate change and poor management of land use. territory in the increase in the frequency and intensity of forest fires.
Not enough investment in prevention
The report, published in English only and entitled “Spreading like Wildfire: The Rising Threat of Extraordinary Landscape Fires”, calls on governments to radically change their approach to wildfires.
“From Australia to Canada, the United States to China, across Europe and the Amazon, wildfires are wreaking havoc on the environment, wildlife, human health and infrastructure,” says The report.
To minimize risks to health, the environment and the economy, governments need to invest more in prevention, warn the authors.
“Current government responses to wildfires often put money in the wrong place. Emergency service workers and firefighters who are on the front lines and risking their lives to fight uncontrolled fires must be supported,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP.
Investing more money in prevention means, for example, sensitizing communities to reduce activities that can cause fires, such as logging, which sometimes leaves dead plant debris on the ground.
Forests that are intentionally set on fire to clear land for agriculture are also responsible for a significant number of devastating fires.
Electricity network failures are also given as an example in the report as being frequent causes of fire outbreaks.
“The risk of extreme wildfires must be minimized by being better prepared: invest more in fire risk reduction, work with local communities and strengthen global commitment to fight climate change,” said Inger. Anderson.
The report, to which some fifty experts contributed, points out that in Canada, well-targeted programs and resources allocated to fight forest fires succeed in containing 90% of fires. However, 10% of forest fires get out of control and it is these fires that contribute the most to the “annual amount of area burned”.
For these fires, “no additional equipment, resources or technology” can control the fire, “before the weather changes”, according to the researchers, hence the importance of investing more in prevention and in community resilience.
According to the Canadian Forest Service, about 7,500 fires each year destroy more than 2.5 million hectares of forest, an area roughly half the size of Nova Scotia.
“Ecosystem restoration is an important solution for mitigating fire risks before they happen and for building back better afterwards. Restoration of wetlands and reintroduction of species such as beavers, restoration of peatlands, construction of buildings away from vegetation and preservation of open buffer spaces are some examples of the essential investments that must be made in prevention , preparation and recovery,” write the authors of the report.
A vicious circle
The report describes a worsening vicious cycle: climate change leads to more drought and higher temperatures that make it easier for fires to start and spread, and in turn, those fires release more carbon into the atmosphere when ‘they burn through forests and bogs, contributing to climate change.
The study points out that climate change has led to many environmental changes that can increase the frequency and magnitude of dangerous wildfire-related weather. Thus, the increase in periods of drought, high air temperatures, low humidity levels, dry thunderstorms, are all factors that lengthen the fire seasons.
The increase in the frequency and magnitude of dangerous weather conditions also causes new phenomena; vegetation types that would not normally burn such as rainforests, permafrost and peat swamps are now susceptible to fires.
“Even the previously nearly immune Arctic faces a growing wildfire risk,” the report said.
Experts who contributed to the report predict a global increase in extreme fires of up to 14% by 2030, 30% by 2050 and 50% by the end of the century.
Reinforcement of protection standards
The authors of the study also call on governments to strengthen “international standards relating to the safety and health of firefighters and the reduction of the risks they face before, during and after operations”.
Specifically, they call for better awareness of the risks of smoke inhalation, to minimize the risk of situations where firefighters can be trapped by the potentially fatal flames and also to ensure that firefighters can hydrate themselves, feed, rest and recuperate between two interventions.
The report is released days before the fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2) to be held in Nairobi from February 28 to March 2.