Forest Fires in Europe, Middle East and North Africa 2016. San-Miguel-Ayanz, J., Houston Durrant, T., Boca, R., Libertà, G., Branco, A., de Rigo , D., Ferrari, D., Maianti, P., Artés Vivancos, T., Schulte, E., Loffler, P., Benchikha, A., Abbas, M., Humer, F., Konstantinov, V., Pe ̌sut, I., Petkovi ̌cek, S., Papageorgiou, K., Toumasis, I., Kütt, V., Kõiv, K., Ruuska, R., Anastasov, T., Timovska, M., Michaut, P., Joannelle, P., Lachmann, M., Pavlidou, K., Debreceni, P., Nagy, D., Nugent, C., Di Fonzo, M., Leisavnieks, E., Jaun ̧ki ̧kis, Z., Mitri, G., Rep ̌sienė, S., Assali, F., Mharzi Alaoui, H., Botnen, D., Piwnicki, J., Szczygie\l, R., Janeira, M., Borges, A., Sbirnea, R., Mara, S., Eritsov, A., Longauerová, V., Jak ̌sa, J., Enriquez, E., Lopez, A., Sandahl, L., Reinhard, M., Conedera, M., Pezzatti, B., Dursun, K. T., Baltaci, U., & Moffat, A. Volume 28707 of EUR - Scientific and Technical Research, Publications Office of the European Union, 2017. doi abstract bibtex [Excerpt: Foreword] Forests, agricultural land and natural areas continue to burn, both within and outside Europe. Lives of European citizens are lost and endangered. By early September 2017, wildfires have already burnt nearly 700 000 ha of land in the EU; hence this season will most likely be remembered as one of the most devastating wildfire seasons in Europe since records began. Moreover, sadly this year's fires have taken a huge toll of lives in Southern Europe. Extreme weather conditions such as extended heat waves, drought, and strong winds can be expected to affect many of Europe's forests more frequently and more severely as a consequence of climate change. [] Large-scale, catastrophic 'megafires', whatever their origin, are caused mainly by the combined effect of these extreme weather conditions together with the degree of fire-proneness of forests, which in itself may reflect a degradation of forest ecosystem conditions and services. Thus, regardless of how much is spent on firefighting means and preparedness, concentrating on firefighting alone will neither be effective enough nor cost-efficient, and even less so when adaptation to climate change is increasingly needed. [] We need to increase the efforts in preventing the outbreak of wildfires and particularly in minimizing conditions for their progression. These efforts should aim at increasing forest resilience and the protection of EU citizens, natural capital and the economy, namely in protected areas such as the Natura 2000 sites, which hold a large proportion of forests and represent the backbone of nature protection action in the EU. [] Unsustainable land use decisions and natural resource mismanagement play a clear role in exacerbating forest fire risk and severity. More investments are needed to increase the health and the resilience of forest ecosystems, for instance by avoiding highly fire-prone forests as compared to more natural mixed or broad-leaved forests, particularly if left unmanaged. The overexploitation of water bodies in some regions has repeatedly been a cause for concern, although its influence on the recent fires remains to be assessed. Neglect or complete abandonment of land management practices, such as pastoralism, which reduces fire risk and/or fire intensity, can also be an important factor. [] The EU is already very actively engaged in support of forest fire prevention, forest fire fighting and the restoration of burnt forest land, as well as education and awareness-raising actions through its Regional Development Fund and Rural Development Programmes. Exchange of good practices to improve intervention effectiveness and European coordination is ensured in the frame of the Expert Group on Forest Fires (EGFF) which includes experts from 40 countries in Europe, Middle East and North Africa. That coordination is also supported by the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) within the Copernicus programme. EFFIS provides access to near real-time information on wildfires and supports the European Response Coordinating Centre (ERCC), which coordinates the help among countries on firefighting operations. [] The Commission will continue working together with the national administrations through EU plans and programmes to increase the resilience of forest habitats and ecosystems, in line with the EU Action Plan for nature, people and the economy adopted few months ago and in view of the revision of the EU Strategy on adaptation to climate change. [] We will further strengthen cooperation with the members of the EGFF, especially on fire prevention and lessons learned. Our common aim is to maintain and protect our natural capital, avoiding or minimising the impacts of wildfires on our citizens, their properties and their natural environment. [...] [Executive summary] This is the 17th issue of the EFFIS annual report on forest fires for the year 2016. This report is consolidated as highly appreciated documentation of the previous year's forest fires in Europe, Middle East and North Africa. In its different sections, the report includes information on the evolution of fire danger in the European and Mediterranean regions, the damage caused by fires and detailed description of the fire conditions during the 2016 fire campaign in the majority of countries in the EFFIS network. The chapter on national reporting gives an overview of the efforts undertaken at national and regional levels, and provides inspiration for countries exposed to forest fire risk. [] The preparation and publication of the report aims also at improving cooperation with the members of the EGFF especially with regard to fire prevention actions. Our common aim is to maintain and protect our landscapes and natural heritage, to avoid loss of human lives and to minimise the damage caused to property by uncontrolled forest fires. [] The aim of the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) is to provide harmonised information on forest fires and assessment of their effects in the pan-European region. For this purpose, collaboration with EU Member States and neighbouring countries has been on-going since 1998. EFFIS started as a pilot project of collaboration between the European Countries and the European Commission in the area of fire information and fire prevention. [] On the Commission side, EFFIS was initiated by the Joint Research Centre in collaboration with the DG Environment. Due to the high support from the Expert Group on Forest Fires, which constitutes the network of experts from the countries contributing to EFFIS, the system was developed to an operational level supporting national and European policies and providing the information basis for the discussion of issues related to forest fires in the European Parliament1. Currently, EFFIS provides operational support to DG ECHO in the area of civil protection, DG GROW in the implementation of the Copernicus Regulation as well as to DG REGIO regarding the implementation of the EU Solidarity Fund Regulation for critical fires. In 2015, EFFIS was adopted as one of the components of the EU Copernicus Program, which provides a legal and financial basis for its operation under this framework. [] EFFIS provides an ideal platform for countries to exchange good practices on fire prevention, firefighting, restoration practices and other activities related to fire management, and for the European Commission to update the forest fire services in the countries on relevant initiatives at the European level. [] Since its first operation in the year 2000, the number of countries contributing to the information on forest fires in EFFIS and receiving data from it has increased steadily. [] Currently, the EFFIS network constitutes 40 countries, including 25 EU Member States (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom), 10 European non-EU countries (Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Norway, Russia, Serbia, Switzerland and Turkey), and 5 MENA countries (Algeria, Israel, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia).
@book{san-miguel-ayanzForestFiresEurope2017,
title = {Forest Fires in {{Europe}}, {{Middle East}} and {{North Africa}} 2016},
author = {{San-Miguel-Ayanz}, Jes{\'u}s and Houston Durrant, Tracy and Boca, Roberto and Libert{\`a}, Giorgio and Branco, Alfredo and {de Rigo}, Daniele and Ferrari, Davide and Maianti, Pieralberto and Art{\'e}s Vivancos, Tom{\`a}s and Schulte, Ernst and Loffler, Peter and Benchikha, Abdelhafid and Abbas, Mohamed and Humer, Franz and Konstantinov, Vladimir and Pe{\v s}ut, Ivana and Petkovi{\v c}ek, Sini{\v s}a and Papageorgiou, Kostas and Toumasis, Ioannis and K{\"u}tt, Veljo and K{\~o}iv, Kadi and Ruuska, Rami and Anastasov, Tatjana and Timovska, Maja and Michaut, Philippe and Joannelle, Philippe and Lachmann, Michaela and Pavlidou, Kleanthi and Debreceni, Peter and Nagy, D{\'a}niel and Nugent, Ciaran and Di Fonzo, Marco and Leisavnieks, Edijs and Jaun{\c k}i{\c k}is, Zigmunds and Mitri, George and Rep{\v s}ien{\.e}, Svetlana and Assali, Fouad and Mharzi Alaoui, Hicham and Botnen, Dag and Piwnicki, Joseph and Szczygie{\l}, Ryszard and Janeira, Marta and Borges, Alexandre and Sbirnea, Radu and Mara, Septimius and Eritsov, Andrey and Longauerov{\'a}, Val{\'e}ria and Jak{\v s}a, Jo{\v s}t and Enriquez, Elsa and Lopez, Antonio and Sandahl, Leif and Reinhard, Michael and Conedera, Marco and Pezzatti, Boris and Dursun, Kamil T. and Baltaci, Ugur and Moffat, Andy},
editor = {{San-Miguel-Ayanz}, Jes{\'u}s and Houston Durrant, Tracy and Boca, Roberto and Libert{\`a}, Giorgio and Branco, Alfredo and {de Rigo}, Daniele and Ferrari, Davide and Maianti, Pieralberto and Art{\'e}s Vivancos, Tom{\`a}s and Schulte, Ernst and Loffler, Peter},
year = {2017},
volume = {28707},
publisher = {{Publications Office of the European Union}},
issn = {1831-9424},
doi = {10.2760/17690},
abstract = {[Excerpt: Foreword] Forests, agricultural land and natural areas continue to burn, both within and outside Europe. Lives of European citizens are lost and endangered. By early September 2017, wildfires have already burnt nearly 700 000 ha of land in the EU; hence this season will most likely be remembered as one of the most devastating wildfire seasons in Europe since records began. Moreover, sadly this year's fires have taken a huge toll of lives in Southern Europe. Extreme weather conditions such as extended heat waves, drought, and strong winds can be expected to affect many of Europe's forests more frequently and more severely as a consequence of climate change.
[] Large-scale, catastrophic 'megafires', whatever their origin, are caused mainly by the combined effect of these extreme weather conditions together with the degree of fire-proneness of forests, which in itself may reflect a degradation of forest ecosystem conditions and services. Thus, regardless of how much is spent on firefighting means and preparedness, concentrating on firefighting alone will neither be effective enough nor cost-efficient, and even less so when adaptation to climate change is increasingly needed.
[] We need to increase the efforts in preventing the outbreak of wildfires and particularly in minimizing conditions for their progression. These efforts should aim at increasing forest resilience and the protection of EU citizens, natural capital and the economy, namely in protected areas such as the Natura 2000 sites, which hold a large proportion of forests and represent the backbone of nature protection action in the EU.
[] Unsustainable land use decisions and natural resource mismanagement play a clear role in exacerbating forest fire risk and severity. More investments are needed to increase the health and the resilience of forest ecosystems, for instance by avoiding highly fire-prone forests as compared to more natural mixed or broad-leaved forests, particularly if left unmanaged. The overexploitation of water bodies in some regions has repeatedly been a cause for concern, although its influence on the recent fires remains to be assessed. Neglect or complete abandonment of land management practices, such as pastoralism, which reduces fire risk and/or fire intensity, can also be an important factor.
[] The EU is already very actively engaged in support of forest fire prevention, forest fire fighting and the restoration of burnt forest land, as well as education and awareness-raising actions through its Regional Development Fund and Rural Development Programmes. Exchange of good practices to improve intervention effectiveness and European coordination is ensured in the frame of the Expert Group on Forest Fires (EGFF) which includes experts from 40 countries in Europe, Middle East and North Africa. That coordination is also supported by the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) within the Copernicus programme. EFFIS provides access to near real-time information on wildfires and supports the European Response Coordinating Centre (ERCC), which coordinates the help among countries on firefighting operations.
[] The Commission will continue working together with the national administrations through EU plans and programmes to increase the resilience of forest habitats and ecosystems, in line with the EU Action Plan for nature, people and the economy adopted few months ago and in view of the revision of the EU Strategy on adaptation to climate change.
[] We will further strengthen cooperation with the members of the EGFF, especially on fire prevention and lessons learned. Our common aim is to maintain and protect our natural capital, avoiding or minimising the impacts of wildfires on our citizens, their properties and their natural environment. [...]
[Executive summary]
This is the 17th issue of the EFFIS annual report on forest fires for the year 2016. This report is consolidated as highly appreciated documentation of the previous year's forest fires in Europe, Middle East and North Africa. In its different sections, the report includes information on the evolution of fire danger in the European and Mediterranean regions, the damage caused by fires and detailed description of the fire conditions during the 2016 fire campaign in the majority of countries in the EFFIS network. The chapter on national reporting gives an overview of the efforts undertaken at national and regional levels, and provides inspiration for countries exposed to forest fire risk.
[] The preparation and publication of the report aims also at improving cooperation with the members of the EGFF especially with regard to fire prevention actions. Our common aim is to maintain and protect our landscapes and natural heritage, to avoid loss of human lives and to minimise the damage caused to property by uncontrolled forest fires.
[] The aim of the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) is to provide harmonised information on forest fires and assessment of their effects in the pan-European region. For this purpose, collaboration with EU Member States and neighbouring countries has been on-going since 1998. EFFIS started as a pilot project of collaboration between the European Countries and the European Commission in the area of fire information and fire prevention.
[] On the Commission side, EFFIS was initiated by the Joint Research Centre in collaboration with the DG Environment. Due to the high support from the Expert Group on Forest Fires, which constitutes the network of experts from the countries contributing to EFFIS, the system was developed to an operational level supporting national and European policies and providing the information basis for the discussion of issues related to forest fires in the European Parliament1. Currently, EFFIS provides operational support to DG ECHO in the area of civil protection, DG GROW in the implementation of the Copernicus Regulation as well as to DG REGIO regarding the implementation of the EU Solidarity Fund Regulation for critical fires. In 2015, EFFIS was adopted as one of the components of the EU Copernicus Program, which provides a legal and financial basis for its operation under this framework.
[] EFFIS provides an ideal platform for countries to exchange good practices on fire prevention, firefighting, restoration practices and other activities related to fire management, and for the European Commission to update the forest fire services in the countries on relevant initiatives at the European level.
[] Since its first operation in the year 2000, the number of countries contributing to the information on forest fires in EFFIS and receiving data from it has increased steadily.
[] Currently, the EFFIS network constitutes 40 countries, including 25 EU Member States (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom), 10 European non-EU countries (Albania, Bosnia \& Herzegovina, former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Norway, Russia, Serbia, Switzerland and Turkey), and 5 MENA countries (Algeria, Israel, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia).},
isbn = {978-92-79-71292-0},
keywords = {*imported-from-citeulike-INRMM,~INRMM-MiD:c-14425788,~to-add-doi-URL,disturbances,effis,europe,european-commission,featured-publication,forest-fires,forest-resources,middle-east,multiauthor,north-africa,wildfires},
lccn = {INRMM-MiD:c-14425788},
series = {{{EUR}} - {{Scientific}} and {{Technical Research}}}
}
Downloads: 0
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Rigo"],"lastnames":[],"firstnames":["Daniele"],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Ferrari"],"firstnames":["Davide"],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Maianti"],"firstnames":["Pieralberto"],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Artés","Vivancos"],"firstnames":["Tomàs"],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Schulte"],"firstnames":["Ernst"],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Loffler"],"firstnames":["Peter"],"suffixes":[]}],"year":"2017","volume":"28707","publisher":"Publications Office of the European Union","issn":"1831-9424","doi":"10.2760/17690","abstract":"[Excerpt: Foreword] Forests, agricultural land and natural areas continue to burn, both within and outside Europe. Lives of European citizens are lost and endangered. By early September 2017, wildfires have already burnt nearly 700 000 ha of land in the EU; hence this season will most likely be remembered as one of the most devastating wildfire seasons in Europe since records began. Moreover, sadly this year's fires have taken a huge toll of lives in Southern Europe. Extreme weather conditions such as extended heat waves, drought, and strong winds can be expected to affect many of Europe's forests more frequently and more severely as a consequence of climate change. [] Large-scale, catastrophic 'megafires', whatever their origin, are caused mainly by the combined effect of these extreme weather conditions together with the degree of fire-proneness of forests, which in itself may reflect a degradation of forest ecosystem conditions and services. Thus, regardless of how much is spent on firefighting means and preparedness, concentrating on firefighting alone will neither be effective enough nor cost-efficient, and even less so when adaptation to climate change is increasingly needed. [] We need to increase the efforts in preventing the outbreak of wildfires and particularly in minimizing conditions for their progression. These efforts should aim at increasing forest resilience and the protection of EU citizens, natural capital and the economy, namely in protected areas such as the Natura 2000 sites, which hold a large proportion of forests and represent the backbone of nature protection action in the EU. [] Unsustainable land use decisions and natural resource mismanagement play a clear role in exacerbating forest fire risk and severity. More investments are needed to increase the health and the resilience of forest ecosystems, for instance by avoiding highly fire-prone forests as compared to more natural mixed or broad-leaved forests, particularly if left unmanaged. The overexploitation of water bodies in some regions has repeatedly been a cause for concern, although its influence on the recent fires remains to be assessed. Neglect or complete abandonment of land management practices, such as pastoralism, which reduces fire risk and/or fire intensity, can also be an important factor. [] The EU is already very actively engaged in support of forest fire prevention, forest fire fighting and the restoration of burnt forest land, as well as education and awareness-raising actions through its Regional Development Fund and Rural Development Programmes. Exchange of good practices to improve intervention effectiveness and European coordination is ensured in the frame of the Expert Group on Forest Fires (EGFF) which includes experts from 40 countries in Europe, Middle East and North Africa. That coordination is also supported by the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) within the Copernicus programme. EFFIS provides access to near real-time information on wildfires and supports the European Response Coordinating Centre (ERCC), which coordinates the help among countries on firefighting operations. [] The Commission will continue working together with the national administrations through EU plans and programmes to increase the resilience of forest habitats and ecosystems, in line with the EU Action Plan for nature, people and the economy adopted few months ago and in view of the revision of the EU Strategy on adaptation to climate change. [] We will further strengthen cooperation with the members of the EGFF, especially on fire prevention and lessons learned. Our common aim is to maintain and protect our natural capital, avoiding or minimising the impacts of wildfires on our citizens, their properties and their natural environment. [...] [Executive summary] This is the 17th issue of the EFFIS annual report on forest fires for the year 2016. This report is consolidated as highly appreciated documentation of the previous year's forest fires in Europe, Middle East and North Africa. In its different sections, the report includes information on the evolution of fire danger in the European and Mediterranean regions, the damage caused by fires and detailed description of the fire conditions during the 2016 fire campaign in the majority of countries in the EFFIS network. The chapter on national reporting gives an overview of the efforts undertaken at national and regional levels, and provides inspiration for countries exposed to forest fire risk. [] The preparation and publication of the report aims also at improving cooperation with the members of the EGFF especially with regard to fire prevention actions. Our common aim is to maintain and protect our landscapes and natural heritage, to avoid loss of human lives and to minimise the damage caused to property by uncontrolled forest fires. [] The aim of the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) is to provide harmonised information on forest fires and assessment of their effects in the pan-European region. For this purpose, collaboration with EU Member States and neighbouring countries has been on-going since 1998. EFFIS started as a pilot project of collaboration between the European Countries and the European Commission in the area of fire information and fire prevention. [] On the Commission side, EFFIS was initiated by the Joint Research Centre in collaboration with the DG Environment. Due to the high support from the Expert Group on Forest Fires, which constitutes the network of experts from the countries contributing to EFFIS, the system was developed to an operational level supporting national and European policies and providing the information basis for the discussion of issues related to forest fires in the European Parliament1. Currently, EFFIS provides operational support to DG ECHO in the area of civil protection, DG GROW in the implementation of the Copernicus Regulation as well as to DG REGIO regarding the implementation of the EU Solidarity Fund Regulation for critical fires. In 2015, EFFIS was adopted as one of the components of the EU Copernicus Program, which provides a legal and financial basis for its operation under this framework. [] EFFIS provides an ideal platform for countries to exchange good practices on fire prevention, firefighting, restoration practices and other activities related to fire management, and for the European Commission to update the forest fire services in the countries on relevant initiatives at the European level. [] Since its first operation in the year 2000, the number of countries contributing to the information on forest fires in EFFIS and receiving data from it has increased steadily. [] Currently, the EFFIS network constitutes 40 countries, including 25 EU Member States (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom), 10 European non-EU countries (Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Norway, Russia, Serbia, Switzerland and Turkey), and 5 MENA countries (Algeria, Israel, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia).","isbn":"978-92-79-71292-0","keywords":"*imported-from-citeulike-INRMM,~INRMM-MiD:c-14425788,~to-add-doi-URL,disturbances,effis,europe,european-commission,featured-publication,forest-fires,forest-resources,middle-east,multiauthor,north-africa,wildfires","lccn":"INRMM-MiD:c-14425788","series":"EUR - Scientific and Technical Research","bibtex":"@book{san-miguel-ayanzForestFiresEurope2017,\n title = {Forest Fires in {{Europe}}, {{Middle East}} and {{North Africa}} 2016},\n author = {{San-Miguel-Ayanz}, Jes{\\'u}s and Houston Durrant, Tracy and Boca, Roberto and Libert{\\`a}, Giorgio and Branco, Alfredo and {de Rigo}, Daniele and Ferrari, Davide and Maianti, Pieralberto and Art{\\'e}s Vivancos, Tom{\\`a}s and Schulte, Ernst and Loffler, Peter and Benchikha, Abdelhafid and Abbas, Mohamed and Humer, Franz and Konstantinov, Vladimir and Pe{\\v s}ut, Ivana and Petkovi{\\v c}ek, Sini{\\v s}a and Papageorgiou, Kostas and Toumasis, Ioannis and K{\\\"u}tt, Veljo and K{\\~o}iv, Kadi and Ruuska, Rami and Anastasov, Tatjana and Timovska, Maja and Michaut, Philippe and Joannelle, Philippe and Lachmann, Michaela and Pavlidou, Kleanthi and Debreceni, Peter and Nagy, D{\\'a}niel and Nugent, Ciaran and Di Fonzo, Marco and Leisavnieks, Edijs and Jaun{\\c k}i{\\c k}is, Zigmunds and Mitri, George and Rep{\\v s}ien{\\.e}, Svetlana and Assali, Fouad and Mharzi Alaoui, Hicham and Botnen, Dag and Piwnicki, Joseph and Szczygie{\\l}, Ryszard and Janeira, Marta and Borges, Alexandre and Sbirnea, Radu and Mara, Septimius and Eritsov, Andrey and Longauerov{\\'a}, Val{\\'e}ria and Jak{\\v s}a, Jo{\\v s}t and Enriquez, Elsa and Lopez, Antonio and Sandahl, Leif and Reinhard, Michael and Conedera, Marco and Pezzatti, Boris and Dursun, Kamil T. and Baltaci, Ugur and Moffat, Andy},\n editor = {{San-Miguel-Ayanz}, Jes{\\'u}s and Houston Durrant, Tracy and Boca, Roberto and Libert{\\`a}, Giorgio and Branco, Alfredo and {de Rigo}, Daniele and Ferrari, Davide and Maianti, Pieralberto and Art{\\'e}s Vivancos, Tom{\\`a}s and Schulte, Ernst and Loffler, Peter},\n year = {2017},\n volume = {28707},\n publisher = {{Publications Office of the European Union}},\n issn = {1831-9424},\n doi = {10.2760/17690},\n abstract = {[Excerpt: Foreword] Forests, agricultural land and natural areas continue to burn, both within and outside Europe. Lives of European citizens are lost and endangered. By early September 2017, wildfires have already burnt nearly 700 000 ha of land in the EU; hence this season will most likely be remembered as one of the most devastating wildfire seasons in Europe since records began. Moreover, sadly this year's fires have taken a huge toll of lives in Southern Europe. Extreme weather conditions such as extended heat waves, drought, and strong winds can be expected to affect many of Europe's forests more frequently and more severely as a consequence of climate change.\n\n[] Large-scale, catastrophic 'megafires', whatever their origin, are caused mainly by the combined effect of these extreme weather conditions together with the degree of fire-proneness of forests, which in itself may reflect a degradation of forest ecosystem conditions and services. Thus, regardless of how much is spent on firefighting means and preparedness, concentrating on firefighting alone will neither be effective enough nor cost-efficient, and even less so when adaptation to climate change is increasingly needed.\n\n[] We need to increase the efforts in preventing the outbreak of wildfires and particularly in minimizing conditions for their progression. These efforts should aim at increasing forest resilience and the protection of EU citizens, natural capital and the economy, namely in protected areas such as the Natura 2000 sites, which hold a large proportion of forests and represent the backbone of nature protection action in the EU.\n\n[] Unsustainable land use decisions and natural resource mismanagement play a clear role in exacerbating forest fire risk and severity. More investments are needed to increase the health and the resilience of forest ecosystems, for instance by avoiding highly fire-prone forests as compared to more natural mixed or broad-leaved forests, particularly if left unmanaged. The overexploitation of water bodies in some regions has repeatedly been a cause for concern, although its influence on the recent fires remains to be assessed. Neglect or complete abandonment of land management practices, such as pastoralism, which reduces fire risk and/or fire intensity, can also be an important factor.\n\n[] The EU is already very actively engaged in support of forest fire prevention, forest fire fighting and the restoration of burnt forest land, as well as education and awareness-raising actions through its Regional Development Fund and Rural Development Programmes. Exchange of good practices to improve intervention effectiveness and European coordination is ensured in the frame of the Expert Group on Forest Fires (EGFF) which includes experts from 40 countries in Europe, Middle East and North Africa. That coordination is also supported by the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) within the Copernicus programme. EFFIS provides access to near real-time information on wildfires and supports the European Response Coordinating Centre (ERCC), which coordinates the help among countries on firefighting operations.\n\n[] The Commission will continue working together with the national administrations through EU plans and programmes to increase the resilience of forest habitats and ecosystems, in line with the EU Action Plan for nature, people and the economy adopted few months ago and in view of the revision of the EU Strategy on adaptation to climate change. \n\n[] We will further strengthen cooperation with the members of the EGFF, especially on fire prevention and lessons learned. Our common aim is to maintain and protect our natural capital, avoiding or minimising the impacts of wildfires on our citizens, their properties and their natural environment. [...]\n\n[Executive summary]\n\nThis is the 17th issue of the EFFIS annual report on forest fires for the year 2016. This report is consolidated as highly appreciated documentation of the previous year's forest fires in Europe, Middle East and North Africa. In its different sections, the report includes information on the evolution of fire danger in the European and Mediterranean regions, the damage caused by fires and detailed description of the fire conditions during the 2016 fire campaign in the majority of countries in the EFFIS network. The chapter on national reporting gives an overview of the efforts undertaken at national and regional levels, and provides inspiration for countries exposed to forest fire risk.\n\n[] The preparation and publication of the report aims also at improving cooperation with the members of the EGFF especially with regard to fire prevention actions. Our common aim is to maintain and protect our landscapes and natural heritage, to avoid loss of human lives and to minimise the damage caused to property by uncontrolled forest fires.\n\n[] The aim of the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) is to provide harmonised information on forest fires and assessment of their effects in the pan-European region. For this purpose, collaboration with EU Member States and neighbouring countries has been on-going since 1998. EFFIS started as a pilot project of collaboration between the European Countries and the European Commission in the area of fire information and fire prevention.\n\n[] On the Commission side, EFFIS was initiated by the Joint Research Centre in collaboration with the DG Environment. Due to the high support from the Expert Group on Forest Fires, which constitutes the network of experts from the countries contributing to EFFIS, the system was developed to an operational level supporting national and European policies and providing the information basis for the discussion of issues related to forest fires in the European Parliament1. Currently, EFFIS provides operational support to DG ECHO in the area of civil protection, DG GROW in the implementation of the Copernicus Regulation as well as to DG REGIO regarding the implementation of the EU Solidarity Fund Regulation for critical fires. In 2015, EFFIS was adopted as one of the components of the EU Copernicus Program, which provides a legal and financial basis for its operation under this framework.\n\n[] EFFIS provides an ideal platform for countries to exchange good practices on fire prevention, firefighting, restoration practices and other activities related to fire management, and for the European Commission to update the forest fire services in the countries on relevant initiatives at the European level. \n\n[] Since its first operation in the year 2000, the number of countries contributing to the information on forest fires in EFFIS and receiving data from it has increased steadily.\n\n[] Currently, the EFFIS network constitutes 40 countries, including 25 EU Member States (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom), 10 European non-EU countries (Albania, Bosnia \\& Herzegovina, former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Norway, Russia, Serbia, Switzerland and Turkey), and 5 MENA countries (Algeria, Israel, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia).},\n isbn = {978-92-79-71292-0},\n keywords = {*imported-from-citeulike-INRMM,~INRMM-MiD:c-14425788,~to-add-doi-URL,disturbances,effis,europe,european-commission,featured-publication,forest-fires,forest-resources,middle-east,multiauthor,north-africa,wildfires},\n lccn = {INRMM-MiD:c-14425788},\n series = {{{EUR}} - {{Scientific}} and {{Technical Research}}}\n}\n\n","author_short":["San-Miguel-Ayanz, J.","Houston Durrant, T.","Boca, R.","Libertà, G.","Branco, A.","de Rigo , D.","Ferrari, D.","Maianti, P.","Artés Vivancos, T.","Schulte, E.","Loffler, P.","Benchikha, A.","Abbas, M.","Humer, F.","Konstantinov, V.","Pe ̌sut, I.","Petkovi ̌cek, S.","Papageorgiou, K.","Toumasis, I.","Kütt, V.","Kõiv, K.","Ruuska, R.","Anastasov, T.","Timovska, M.","Michaut, P.","Joannelle, P.","Lachmann, M.","Pavlidou, K.","Debreceni, P.","Nagy, D.","Nugent, C.","Di Fonzo, M.","Leisavnieks, E.","Jaun ̧ki ̧kis, Z.","Mitri, G.","Rep ̌sienė, S.","Assali, F.","Mharzi Alaoui, H.","Botnen, D.","Piwnicki, J.","Szczygie\\l, R.","Janeira, M.","Borges, A.","Sbirnea, R.","Mara, S.","Eritsov, A.","Longauerová, V.","Jak ̌sa, J.","Enriquez, E.","Lopez, A.","Sandahl, L.","Reinhard, M.","Conedera, M.","Pezzatti, B.","Dursun, K. T.","Baltaci, U.","Moffat, A."],"editor_short":["San-Miguel-Ayanz, J.","Houston Durrant, T.","Boca, R.","Libertà, G.","Branco, A.","de Rigo , D.","Ferrari, D.","Maianti, P.","Artés Vivancos, T.","Schulte, E.","Loffler, P."],"key":"san-miguel-ayanzForestFiresEurope2017","id":"san-miguel-ayanzForestFiresEurope2017","bibbaseid":"sanmiguelayanz-houstondurrant-boca-libert-branco-derigo-ferrari-maianti-etal-forestfiresineuropemiddleeastandnorthafrica2016-2017","role":"author","urls":{},"keyword":["*imported-from-citeulike-INRMM","~INRMM-MiD:c-14425788","~to-add-doi-URL","disturbances","effis","europe","european-commission","featured-publication","forest-fires","forest-resources","middle-east","multiauthor","north-africa","wildfires"],"downloads":0},"bibtype":"book","biburl":"https://sharefast.me/php/download.php?id=zOUKvA&token=29","creationDate":"2020-07-03T22:46:27.208Z","downloads":0,"keywords":["*imported-from-citeulike-inrmm","~inrmm-mid:c-14425788","~to-add-doi-url","disturbances","effis","europe","european-commission","featured-publication","forest-fires","forest-resources","middle-east","multiauthor","north-africa","wildfires"],"search_terms":["forest","fires","europe","middle","east","north","africa","2016","san-miguel-ayanz","houston durrant","boca","libertà","branco","de rigo ","ferrari","maianti","artés vivancos","schulte","loffler","benchikha","abbas","humer","konstantinov","pe ̌sut","petkovi ̌cek","papageorgiou","toumasis","kütt","kõiv","ruuska","anastasov","timovska","michaut","joannelle","lachmann","pavlidou","debreceni","nagy","nugent","di fonzo","leisavnieks","jaun ̧ki ̧kis","mitri","rep ̌sienė","assali","mharzi alaoui","botnen","piwnicki","szczygie\\l","janeira","borges","sbirnea","mara","eritsov","longauerová","jak ̌sa","enriquez","lopez","sandahl","reinhard","conedera","pezzatti","dursun","baltaci","moffat"],"title":"Forest Fires in Europe, Middle East and North Africa 2016","year":2017,"dataSources":["5S2zj2hKW8TWTkuMq"]}