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obiettivo su

no impegnati a lavorare per una ri- matica ed idrogeologica, della fun- nio inestimabile di biodiversità e di
duzione significativa della defore- zione di produzione legnosa, della prevedere contributi a lungo termi-
stazione nei prossimi decenni, per funzione ricreativa e turistica. Pro- ne a supporto delle aree protette, vi-
espandere o quanto meno mantene- prio l’uso delle foreste a fini ricrea- sto che perdere le foreste vergini si-
re l’attuale copertura forestale, per zionali aumenta il rischio di incendi gnifica compromettere la più im-
consolidare la ricostituzione delle incontrollati. portante riserva energetica europea.
foreste e rafforzare il ruolo dei bo- Ma al pericolo delle foreste le- La proposta che viene da questi
schi nella produzione di legname. gato agli incendi è affiancato quel- scienziati è proprio quella della
Nel momento in cui si progetta un lo dovuto alla mancanza di una se- creazione di aree protette che sul-
intervento a difesa dei boschi, con ria politica di conservazione delle l’esempio del parco di Yellowstone,
strategie di portata nazionale, biso- foreste. Centottanta scienziati di tut- in America, costituiscano i luoghi
gna riflettere sulla funzione che le ta Europa si sono mobilitati firman- della conservazione degli alberi an-
foreste hanno come bene ambienta- do un appello-denuncia: “Scientist tichi come “monumenti della natu-
le e culturale. I boschi incendiati Call for Protection of Forests in Eu- ra” e della tradizione culturale della
creano una riduzione della biodiver- rope”. Nell’appello si chiede all’U- foresta.
sità oltre a comportare una perdita nione Europea di impegnarsi nella
delle funzioni di stabilizzazione cli- salvaguardia delle foreste, patrimo- FABIOLA DI GIOVANGELO

FAO IS WARNING: FIRES ARE INCREASINGLY THREATENING THE WORLD’S FORESTS
FIRES ARE THREATENING THE PLANET

Forests can only be preserved through forest fire prevention as a result of silvicultural practices
and environmental education

“This year’s fire season has been one of the worst in recent history, in terms of loss of human life and damage
to forests and infrastructure, which includes housing, roads, bridges and telecommunication”, said Mike Jurvelius,
responsible for the FAO programme on forest fires. He added “The extremely hot summer in Europe, the US,
Canada and Australia has definitely contributed to the intensity and severity of fires, the hotter it is, the higher
the danger of fires. This not only damages forests, but also burns and destroys the topsoil and increases the risk
for soil erosion and landslides”.
FAO’s warning is even more serious if we take into consideration which are the causes of fire. Ninety five per-
cent of fires in the world are caused by human activities of various nature, such as inattention and lack of know-
ledge on fire management that often cause serious damages. According to Mike Jurvelius and Alberto Del Lungo,
from FAO, forests can only be preserved by preventing fires through the improvement of silvicultural practices and
the dissemination of environmental education aimed at involving people in fire prevention to maintain their land.
Raising awareness campaigns to preserve forests and environment are important to make people aware and
responsible for their enviroment. However, there is still need for more co-operation among governmental insti-
tutions, local communities, schools, universities, research institutes, NGOs, forest service, fire brigades and po-
lice in order to improve environmental education, fire prevention and strengthen the relationship between the po-
pulation and their land.
Prevention of forest fires needs the involvement of all these stakeholders. Forests fire were also a subject of
analysis and discussion at the XII World Forestry Congress (WFC) held in Quebec City, Canada from 21 to 28
September 2003. During the WFC, attended by more than 4.000 experts coming from 140 different countries,
participants agreed on the need of reducing deforestation in the next decades and maintaining or expanding cur-
rent forest cover, in order to improve reforestation and reinforce the role of forests in wood production.
Forest functions in maintaining environmental and cultural heritage should be taken into account when plan-
ning national strategies on forest preservation. Burned forests are affected by loss of biodiversity and in turn they
have a negative impact on land tenure, climate change, wood production and other functions such as recrea-
tion and tourism. However, uncontrolled use of forests for recreational purposes also increase the risk of forest
fires.
The risk of forest fires is also related to the lack of strong policies in forest conservation. About 180 scientists
from all Europe have signed the “Scientist Call for Protection of Forests in Europe” an appeal that requests the
European Union to be more involved in preserving forests, which are a fundamental habitat of biodiversity, and
thus plan long term funding aimed at supporting protected areas.
European primary forests should be preserved to secure the most important source of green assests.
Scientists propose to establish more national parks in Europe following the example of the great American na-
tional parks, such as Yellowstone, where ancient trees are preserved as “monuments of nature” and cultural tra-
dition.

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