WWF AND IUCN WARN OF A GLOBAL INFERNO UNLESS GOVERNMENTS ACT NOW (Embargoed: 0500 hrs BST Thursday 27th July 2000)

In the aftermath of devastating fires in Greece, WWF, the conservation organisation and IUCN - The World Conservation Union, today warned that many more lives would be lost, livelihoods destroyed and vast areas of the world's most important forest ecosystems burnt to ashes unless urgent action is taken immediately by world leaders to address the underlying causes of forest fires before the next El Niņo year hits - according to some experts this could happen in as little as 18 months time.

Timed as a wake-up call to world leaders and also published today, the "Global Review of Forest Fires" by Andy Rowell and Dr Peter Moore (note 1), concludes that since the devastation of 1997/8, fires have slipped off the media and political agendas. At an international level little has been done to address the underlying causes of forest fires, and although some nations are attempting to face their forest fire problems many such responses are too slow and often misdirected.

The situation in Greece is a microcosm of what is happening on a global scale. "WWF Greece has repeatedly warned the government over the past two years that there was a catastrophe in the making yet the official response continues to be characterised by political expediency, short-termism and policy failure," said Aristotelis Papageorgiou of WWF Greece.

Over 70,000 hectares of forests have burnt to ashes in the last few weeks. The environmental impact has yet to be calculated but we know that the fires hit two of the most important wildlife areas in the country. The Pindos Mountains is home to countless plant species and a key habitat for brown bear, wild cat and wolves. The Island of Samos has now lost its crucial brutia pine which provided islanders with the only alternative income to tourism. Practically all the forests around Athens have now gone.

WWF is calling for the Greek government to give adequate and immediate funding to its national forestry service, which is currently under-resourced and to introduce integrated forest management plans that fully involve local communities.

IUCN and WWF are also encouraging the European Union to invest more in addressing the underlying causes of Mediterranean forest fires. The EU has been one of the few international institutions that has started to support innovative approaches to fire management in some areas of the tropics; it is now time to apply these in its own backyard.

The economic cost of the fires in South East Asia in 1998 is estimated at up to $10 billion with around 70 million people's health being affected. Tragically the next fires could be worse, as forests have not recovered from the previous burn and piles of dead and decaying logs will act as a ready fuel supply therefore increasing the likelihood and the intensity of the burn (note 2).

New research is telling us that fires should be moving rapidly up the political agenda as climate change results in more frequent and stronger El Niņo phenomena, which in turn predispose more forests to harmful and regular burning. There is still time for governments to prevent major fires developing by making real changes at a policy level if they act now.

"WWF and IUCN's work on Project Firefight (note 3) and the findings of this new report set a clear agenda for governments to act," said David Hinchley of IUCN's forest conservation programme. "We believe that there are now clear examples from around the world - Namibia and Central America for example - where community based solutions are often the best and more cost-effective way forward for planning for and preventing damaging forest fires. Early warning systems need to be built up; agricultural practices need to be altered; effective enforcement and implementation of national and international law need to be galvanised. Budgets for fire prevention and management need to be available at a provincial level and not just a national level and large-scale projects such as road construction need to be valued properly, including the fire risk they pose to ecologically and socially important forest resources." (Note 4)

WWF and IUCN stress the 1997/98 fires in Indonesia and this year's fires in Greece, are only a foretaste of a global disaster waiting to happen. The next El Niņo may coincide with the "Rio +10 Earth Summit" when world leaders meet to consider global environmental issues. Governments must act now and not wait until the next catastrophe happens.

Steve Howard of WWF International said, "Whether it is in two years or two weeks time, governments must realise that we need to fight fires before they ignite, rather than wait until the world's forests go up in smoke."

ENDS

For more information/interviews/embargoed copies of the report /new footage on the aftermath of the Greek fires shot in Athens and the Pindos Mountains contact: DENISE MEREDITH ON 0208 255 8706 OR MOBILE: 07930 531128 ALISON LUCAS 01483 419266 OR MOBILE: 07799 416912

"The Global Review of Forest Fires" takes a comprehensive look at the latest information available on forest fires around the world - past and present issues and makes future predictions. It looks at the current situations in key fire-prone regions including: China; Latin America; Indonesia; Russia; North America and the European Mediterranean. It sets out a clear action plan for governments to implement fundamental policy changes in order to avoid a future global inferno when the next El Niņo year hits anywhere between 18-24 months time.

Fire is a paradox - it can kill plants and animals and cause extensive ecological damage, but it can be also extremely beneficial, the source for forest regeneration and of nutrient recycling. Fire, the experts say, is nature's way of recycling the essential nutrients, especially nitrogen. For many boreal forests, fire is a natural part of the cycle of the forest and some tree species only germinate after they have been exposed to fire i.e. lodgepole pine and jack pine. However, fire causes severe damage to tropical forest eco-systems which are characterised by high levels of humidity and moisture. These fires do not normally burn and are extremely prone to fire damage. Ground breaking research from the Woods Hole Research Centre (WHRC) and IPAM (Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazonia) conclude that "in a scenario of increasing El Niņo events, Amazonia is poised to experience catastrophic forest fires that dwarf the Roraima fires in early 1998."

Project Firefight is a joint initiative by WWF and IUCN to identify the root causes of harmful forest fires, quantify their impact on people and the environment and advocate the adoption of appropriate policies and incentives for long-term fire management and control. Initiated in 1999 Firefight has one 3 year policy analysis and advocacy project operational in South East Asia and is undertaking research activities in the Mediterranean. Other target regions include Amazonia, Central America & Mexico, Russia and Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of funding has been received from the European Union with additional support from the United States Forest Service, IUCN and WWF.

Analysis of data by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from the ten strongest El Niņo's of the past century has shown "that they are occurring more frequently, and that they are becoming progressively warmer". Modellers at the Max Planck Institute believe that the average climate in the 21st century will be more like the El Niņo conditions experienced in the last few years.

Page 22 and page 23 of the report gives a clear breakdown - national, international and local - for what actions need to be taken to properly implement best practice for forest fires management.

The "Global Review of Forest Fires" can be found on WWF's Forests for Life web site: www.panda.org/forests4life on 27th July.

********************************************************************* Error: Unable to read footer file.