NAIROBI, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Robust investments in wildfire prevention measures are urgent in order to minimize threats to vital ecosystems and human health, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said on Wednesday.
Inger Andersen, UNEP executive director, said that countries should adequately invest in fire risk reduction, work with local communities and strengthen global commitment to fight climate change that has been fueling wildfires.
"Those emergency service workers and firefighters on the frontlines who are risking their lives to fight forest wildfires need to be supported," Andersen said during the launch of "Spreading like Wildfire: The Rising Threat of Extraordinary Landscape Fires" report in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.
Andersen noted that wildfires disproportionately affect the world's poorest nations hence the need for them to allocate enough funds to support the roll-out of mitigation measures.
Andrew Sullivan, principal research scientist at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Organization (CSIRO), the lead researcher for the report, said that current funding on preventing wildfires is low in relation to the widespread damage and losses they unleash.
Sullivan noted that wildfires were most frequent in the years 2014-2019 globally since most regions experienced hot weather conditions that fueled the phenomenon. Even though elimination of wildfires is not possible, they, however, can be managed subject to early strategic planning.
Glynis Humphrey, coordinator, plant conservation unit at the University of Cape Town in South Africa called for the inclusion of wildfires in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) alongside earthquakes and floods. Humprey noted that wildfires, just like other disasters, affect food systems, jobs, urban development, and the health of wildlife species besides worsening carbon emissions.
Peter Moore, consultant fire management officer at the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) urged countries to opt for indigenous fire management options that have proved cheaper and effective, noting that traditional fire management that has been applied successfully in Australia, South America and parts of Africa should be reintroduced globally.
Moore revealed that according to studies conducted by FAO, wildfire fighting recovery funding will rise by 20 percent in the coming years.
The wildfire report that was launched ahead of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA5) to be held in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi next week, calls for a combination of data and science-based monitoring systems with indigenous knowledge and for stronger regional and international cooperation.
It notes that with an impact that extends longer, wildfires impede progress towards attaining universal development goals besides worsening social inequalities, degradation of watersheds and air pollution. And it reveals that climate change and land-use change are projected to make wildfires more frequent and intense, with a global increase of extreme fires of up to 14 percent by 2030, 30 percent by the end of 2050 and 50 percent by the end of the century.
The report calls on governments to adopt a new "Fire Ready Formula", with two-thirds of spending devoted to planning, prevention, preparedness, and recovery, with one-third left for response. ■
