Vips Press Pack Forest Fires. June 1999

Directorate-General For The Information Society And Media

Description

* * *** i, * European Commission Press Pack m c? Forest Fi Published by the Fifth Framework Programme for Research June 1999 European Commission Environment Press service on the results of European research Battling on against forest fires Forest fires destroy half a million hectares of 'wild' land every year in Europe, principally in the south'. They result in considerable loss of life, destroy fauna and flora, and have serious economic implications. While man causes most fires, natural factors such as drought, wind and topography all influence their spread and effects. The European Commission (DGXII and JRC) has funded a series of important research projects over the last decade to tackle this major hazard, covering all areas of fire management, including fire detection, fire danger prediction, better technology in support of fire suppression, and refinement of knowledge for post-fire rehabilitation and management. Keywords: forest fire, research, prevention, suppression, rehabilitation, management, environment Background Forest fires affect all European Union countries. They are a common phenomenon world-wide but their characteristics vary widely from one ecosystem to another. Such fires are a major problem in the five southern-most Member States - France, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain. Between 1993 and 1997, 2.1 million hectares of land were destroyed in these countries alone.

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• Marketing et communication

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• Publié par: DIRECTORATE-GENERAL-FOR-THE-INFORMATION-SOCIETY-AND-MEDIA
• Nombre de lectures: 8
• Langue: English

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