FAO Launches Updated Guidelines to Tackle Extreme Wildfires
Kartavya Desk Staff
#### Syllabus: Disaster Management Source: FAO
Context: The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has updated its Integrated Fire Management (IFM) voluntary guidelines to address wildfire risks, incorporating new strategies developed by the Global Fire Management Hub (GFMH), launched by FAO and UNEP in 2023.
Explanation:
Integrated Fire Management Voluntary Guidelines: Principles and Strategic Actions is the latest publication by FAO, updating fire management guidelines that were first published two decades ago. The new edition addresses challenges posed by the current climate crisis, emphasizing proactive strategies and preparedness.
Key Principles:
• Economic: Maximize benefits and minimize wildfire losses through an efficient IFM program.
• Environmental: Integrate climate change, vegetation, and fire regimes in planning and management.
• Equity: Consider all stakeholder perspectives, including gender, as wildfires impact them differently.
• Human Health: Implement early detection and warning systems and adapt fire danger ratings with reliable weather forecasts.
Wildfires are becoming increasingly severe due to climate change, with projections indicating a 50% rise in their frequency by the end of the century. Environmental factors such as drought, high temperatures, and strong winds are contributing to longer and more intense fire seasons. Currently, 340 to 370 million hectares of the Earth’s surface are burned by wildfires each year, threatening sustainable development, and livelihoods, and generating significant greenhouse gas emissions.
Key Features:
• Proactive Strategies: Emphasizing prevention and preparedness over-reactive responses.
• Integration of Science and Traditional Knowledge: Encouraging the inclusion of Indigenous Peoples and local knowledge holders in fire management decisions.
• Gender Inclusion: Promoting diverse fire knowledge and innovative management options.
• Strategic Actions: Addressing actions before, during, and after fires to prevent wildfires and restore affected areas.
Impact of increased heatwaves and wildfires
• Threat to life and property: it poses a direct threat to people’s lives and property as it forces people to leave their homes. For instance, heat waves in France have brought severe droughts there resulting in the water crisis.
• For instance, heat waves in France have brought severe droughts there resulting in the water crisis.
• Pollution: Various polluting gasses are released whenever there is a wildfire, like Nitrous oxide, Co2, PM 2.5 and *particulate matter lesser than 2.5 microns which could severe health issues such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases*.
• Health-related issues: The health impacts of Heat Waves typically involve dehydration, heat cramps, heat exhaustion and/or heat stroke.
• Vicious cycle: Wildfires also burn up the carbon stored in trees and soil, releasing large amounts of smoke, methane, and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which increase overall temperatures.
• Threat to biodiversity: increased heat waves and Wildfires destroy the habitats and the intricate relationships of diverse flora and fauna leading to loss of ecosystems and biodiversity. For instance, Florida’s sea turtles are grappling with a gender imbalance made worse by climate change which has resulted in sand beaches getting hotter leading to every turtle being born as female.
• For instance, Florida’s sea turtles are grappling with a gender imbalance made worse by climate change which has resulted in sand beaches getting hotter leading to every turtle being born as female.
Various steps taken by countries to mitigate its impact:
Country | Steps Taken
USA | The US Senate passed a $430 billion bill to fight climate change and raise corporate taxes.
Japan | Initiated research for a green GDP measurement reflecting progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Germany | The European Commission approved a €3 billion scheme to support renewable energy and waste heat-based district heating programmes.
India | Approved new targets for slashing emissions and aims to meet half of its energy demands from renewable sources by 2030.
Other Steps Taken:
• Global Fire Management Hub: Launched in 2023 by FAO and UNEP, supported by countries like Canada, France, Germany, Portugal, South Korea, and the USA, it aims to unite the global fire management community.
• Funding: Nearly $5 million has been secured to enhance national capacities for integrated fire management strategies.
Measures needed
• Awareness: Improving community information and preparedness reduces vulnerability.
• Improved development planning, building standards and management of the forest-urban boundary reduces exposure.
• Early warning: Information about forest dryness is useful for early warning and preparedness for extreme fires. Similarly, mapping climate variability across many years can help predict extreme years.
• National and local measures: Pursuing ambitious global greenhouse gas mitigation alongside national and local measures to adapt to a climate-changed world, is a necessary strategy if we are to limit further increases in fire risk
• GHG mitigation: While efforts can be made to limit vulnerability, exposure and fire itself, it is clear that the contribution of climate change to fire risk would be lower if greenhouse gas emissions were curtailed.
Conclusion
Climate change is happening. This should be accepted and not politicised. International cooperation to address climate change is vital to mitigate the adverse impact. Additionally, mitigation must be complemented with climate change-related adaption since mitigation alone cannot address the adverse effects we are facing right now.
Insta Links
• Forest Fires
Practice Questions
Q1. Enumerate the causes for the rising instances of forest fires in India. What measures are needed to mitigate the adverse impacts of forest fires? (250 Words)