The Red Books of Prevention and Coordination: A General Analysis of Forest Fire Management Policies in Spain

A steadily increasing number of fires and the high intensity of fire seasons every 4 to 5 years have marked the last two decades in Spain. A generalized first attack system supported by aircraft and new technologies has achieved a main goal: more than 70 percent of fires burn less than 1 ha. Nevertheless, fuel accumulations on large areas because of rural land abandonment have increased the risk of large fires by lightning. This same socioeconomic phenomenon increases the risk of large fires by traditional agricultural and bush burning. In 1995 budgets devoted to fire management attained an average, in U.S. dollars, of $5/ha for prevention and $10/ha for suppression. The protected surface is nearly 25 million ha, including forest, brushlands, and grasslands in the mountains. However, suppression resources are difficult to maintain because of declining public budgets under the present economic policies in Europe. A deep analysis of the situation has been performed by the Forest Fire Committee (FFC), the Spanish equivalent to a National Forest Fire Coordinating Group. Two Red Books on Prevention and Suppression have been approved in 1997. Their approaches to implement new policies are summarized in this paper. The Red Book of Prevention The description of the current forest fire situation in Spain is documented in the National Forest Fire Database started in 1968, when the forest fire law was approved. The Red Book includes a series of tables and graphs for every region in Spain. The number of fires is increasing in the northwestern regions and shows stability at the Mediterranean areas, although it is not decreasing in anywhere. Fire Causes Lightning fires are less than 10 percent every year, but they are frequently at the origin of the largest burned surfaces. Light fuel accumulations (grasses and brushes) are also at the origin of most fires. A classification of fire causes can be established as: • High probability motives in all regions: Agriculture and grazing land burning. Private revenge. • Probable motives identified in certain localized regions: Conflicts related to game hunting rights. Conflicts related to wildland ownership. Conflicts related to forest policy: reforestations in communal areas; restrictions of local use in protected areas (national and natural parks). Fires set to chase off wild animals (wild boars, wolves). Fires set to create jobs in fire fighting or in reforestations. Rubbish burning at the tourist areas where the urbanization process is expanding. An abbreviated version of this paper was presented at the Symposium on Fire Economics, Policy, and Planning: Bottom Lines , Apri l 5 -9 1999, San Diego, California. Chief, National Forest Fire Service, Ministry of Environment, Gran Via de San Francisco, 4 28004 Madrid, Spain; e-mail: [email protected] USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-173. 1999. 171 Session IV The Red Books of Prevention and Coordination---Vélez • Low probability motives: Fires set to make the price of timber drop. Fires set for political reasons. Problems and Recommendations A questionnaire was circulated by the Forest Fire Committee (FFC) to collect views from all the people concerned by forest protection (central and regional administrations, forest owners, farmers organizations, forest companies, journalists, police, etc). The analysis of the answers led to several lists with 33 main problems and recommendations. These can be summarized as: