Page 6 - silvaeanno02n05-010-010-editoriale-pagg.006.qxp

Editorial

Then, to go back to fires, the following contributions will deal with the causes
and with the solutions, or at least the initiatives which we, as members of the Corpo
forestale dello Stato, but also as simple citizens, must get involved in, and which we
mean to propose in conjunction with all those who have responsibilities in taking
action.
Any action meanwhile must take into account an undisputable fact: defending our
woods is a primary objective which the whole national community should engage in, and
if we want to reach certain goals in this field, we must unite. We are, and must be,
brothers in arms, fighting against forest fires which scar the countryside, damage the
environment, cripple local economies and deplete the country’s resources. We are, and
must be, colleagues working together to address these problems, to streamline actions,
involve Italy’s local authorities, i.e., the Regions the Provinces and the Communes, to
form an interlocking network of actions which should not be confined to creating a new
emergency telephone number, separate from the current one, 1515.
A methodical and tireless awareness raising campaign must address all citizens,
starting with the younger generations, and this must start in the class rooms. In this
context and on this occasion, albeit not addressing education programmes specifical-
ly, it does seem right to call for the adoption of a constant, progressive approach,
capable of attracting the attention and interest of those who receive this input. Its
aim should be to build an individual, and therefore collective, true environmental
awareness, based on prevention and safeguard. We do not expect immediate results,
because teaching, (which in Italian is “insegnare”, which can be read as putting “in”
each of us a “segno”, a sign), requires dedication and constancy, but is highly
rewarding in the long term. We can easily observe how the rewards are already
before us: the new generations are far more sensitive to the ecosystem compared to
their fathers.
The theme of the involvement of tomorrow’s citizens in environment protection
themes is the subject addressed by Guido Bertolaso, head of Protezione Civile, who
along with all other authoritative contributors from the forest Administration, the sci-
entific and civil sectors have enriched Silvae’s Focus section with their articles. Mr
Bertolaso refers to its role as a police force, which the law entrusts to the Corpo fore-
stale dello Stato, in charge of monitoring, preventing, fighting forest fires and deal- 5
ing with crimes related to such events. All these tasks are carried out by the forest n.
personnel in a competent, self-sacrificing and professional way. - II
From the single authors’ articles - in which data and different references, moti-
Anno

SILVÆ 9