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Side-event: The ITTO's Role in Forest Fire Management
Presented
by the ITTO Secretariat
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James
Dunlop, Former Head of the Forest Protection Branch, British Columbia,
addressed fire fighting capacity in Brazil and Ghana, and highlighted,
inter alia, that fire is an important tool used in the agricultural
economy; a highly sophisticated and accurate monitoring system and
elite group of firefighters in Brazil; and lack of sophisticated
communication and weather and fire danger monitoring in Ghana. He
recommended a national fire coordination center; fire reporting
systems; and improving communications.. |
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 James
Sorensen, Consultant, Former USDA Firefighting Service, addressed
the ITTO's role in dealing with fire in the tropics. He said tropical
forests were once considered fireproof, which has left many unprepared
to deal with fires, and that existing fire management programmes
have been used as models for those without such programmes. He said
the ITTO provides a wealth of opportunities and that the ITTO Guidelines
on Fire Management in Tropical Forests can also be applied and tailored
to specific country conditions. He said components of a fire management
programme include: prevention (education, engineering, enforcement);
detection (patrol, towers, aircraft, notification by the public);
suppression (operations, logistics, planning, finance); and fire
use. . |
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Dicky
Simorangkir, WWF/IUCN Firefight Project, South-East Asia, highlighted
an imbalance in policies and regulations on fire management in South-East
Asia and unclear roles and responsibilities. He emphasized the importance
of local knowledge and involvement of stakeholders and recommended
integrated fire management plans. |
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Joao
Antonio Raposo Pereira, Fire Monitoring Coordinator, PROARCO,
MMA/IBAMA, Brazil, outlined a programme to prevent and combat large
forest fires in the Amazon. He discussed, inter alia, monitoring
with satellite location systems, difference between burnings and
wildfires, and solidarity burning. He said future steps will include
preparing magnetic cards for prescribed burnings, and developing
sensors for fire mapping and the Brazilian Equatorial Orbit Satellite
to cover Africa and Southeast Asia. . |
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Ross
Smith, New South Wales Rural Fire Service, proposed establishing
a forest management agency in West Kalimantan, and emphasizing involvement
of local people, called for simple solutions rather than technological
ones. |
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Daddy
Ruhiyat, University of Mulawarman, East Kalimantan, presented
a project on field testing of forest fire prevention based on indigenous
knowledge. Participants discussed the expected role of the ITTO's
role in forest fires, with some noting that burning for land clearing
is beyond the ITTO's scope, although ITTO could address exchange
of information and experiences between countries. . |
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