EU approach on Integrated Wildfire Risk Management

Key points

The EESC:

• welcomes the Commission Communication on integrated wildfire risk management, recognising the increasing severity and frequency of wildfires in the European Union;
• considers, however, that more priority needs to be given to the dimension of prevention and that there is a structural imbalance between prevention and firefighting policies, and therefore calls on the Commission to substantially strengthen the pillar of prevention; calls for a dedicated wildfire prevention fund to be established in the next MFF that is strictly independent of the CAP budget;
• stresses that the lack of profitability of agricultural (grazing, cultivation) and forestry activities is a key factor in land abandonment, contributing to fuel accumulation and increasing the risk and intensity of fires, and therefore considers it essential to incorporate this economic dimension into European policies;
• notes that much of the areas affected by fires is publicly‑owned land, including protected areas and uncultivated land, which highlights the need to increase Member States’ responsibilities and strengthen their management mechanisms;
• points to the urgent need for a common European wildfire strategy, with particular focus on the southern regions of Europe, ensuring a coordinated, integrated approach with sufficient financial resources and with a focus on means of self-protection and training for rural and wildland owners and workers, utilising dual-use equipment such as irrigation reservoirs;
• highlights the economic, environmental, social and territorial impact of wildfires, which disproportionately affect rural areas, jeopardising territorial cohesion, employment and the viability of agricultural and forestry activities, and the achievement of environmental targets;
• stresses that wildfires have a direct impact on the EU’s climate objectives, including decarbonisation, causing significant carbon emissions and destroying natural sinks;
• highlights the damage wildfires cause to biodiversity through habitat destruction, species loss and ecosystem degradation, undermining environmental resilience and the EU’s nature protection objectives;
• considers that the rules on forest management need to be revised in order to remove constraints that may hinder active and preventive forest management, particularly in the regions most prone to fires, while ensuring that wildlife population management is adapted to local conditions.