Over 150 participants in an international conference on "Climate Change and
Forest Fires in the Mediterranean Basin: Management & Risk Reduction"
Ministry of Environmental Protection updated: 01/30/2012
http://www.sviva.gov.il/Enviroment/bin/en.jsp?enPage=e_BlankPage&enDisplay=view&enDispWhat=Object&enDispWho=News%5el5872&enZone=e_news

The Ministry of Environmental Protection, in cooperation with the Keren
Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL) within a framework of the EU
ERA-NET CIRCLE 2 for promoting research and cooperation on climate change
adaptation held an international conference on Climate Change & Forest Fires
in the Nir Etzion Hotel on Mount Carmel near Haifa. The conference took
place 24 - 26th of January 2012.

The objectives of the conference were to share scientific knowledge, policy
tools and practical experience for effective management for the prevention
of forest fires and for ecological rehabilitation following fires under
conditions of climate change.

Approximately 150 people participated in the conference including government
ministries, local government, the Fire and Rescue Services, the Nature and
Parks Authority, KKL-JNF, researchers from academia, the private sector and
NGO's.

This international conference also hosted lecturers and guests from Jordan,
Kosovo, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Canada and the USA. Among our guests
from abroad were Prof. Johann Georg Goldammer, director of the Global Fire
Monitoring Center (GFMC - UN university); Prof. José Moreno from the
university of Castilla de la Mancha, a member of the IPCC panel that
received the Nobel prize with Al Gore, and also Prof. Jon E. Keeley, US
Geological Survey and adjunct professor UCLA with other distinguished
guests.

The first day involved sharing scientific knowledge and focused on the
relation between climate change and forest fires; forest fire management;
post fire ecological assessment & rehabilitation; and knowledge gaps and
research needs.

Climate change affects temperature increases and heat waves which have an
increasing impact on wildfires. The fire, its size and its intensity are
correlated to weather conditions in the months and days prior to the fire's
ignition. The increasing risks and the 2010 Carmel Forest fire disaster were
the main incentives to organize this conference. Interesting findings that
came up during the lectures presented in the first day were:

In Europe, it was found that the massive emigration from rural areas to
cities have left agricultural areas susceptible to forest growth and
takeover, increasing the fire risk in many areas. The EU representative
claimed that the number of fires and the burned area did not increase with
time. However, the damages are more severe due to the proximity of forests
to human settlements.
In California, the growth in population increases the man made fires and the
proximity of the fires to settlements increases damages.
In Israel the vast majority of fires are man made.
Military activity is a major cause of fires around the world, and in Israel
it was shown that they are amongst the costliest to extinguish. leading
method to control and prevent fires is to reduce the amount of forest
vegetation. One suggestion is to bring back herds of goats to forest areas.
Natural rehabilitation of the forest, as opposed to planting trees, was
raised as an issue to be further examined.
The Carmel fire started after 8 months of no rain and under extreme dry
conditions. One of the main causes for the fire abating was a quick change
in wind direction from east to west together with a rapid increase in
humidity from 10 to 90 %
There are a number of monitoring and fire tracking systems in Europe whose
high costs demand collaboration between many countries. Israel was invited
to participate in a number of such programs.
The second day of the conference concentrated on the transition between
science and policy and from policy to application and management. The Carmel
rehabilitation status after the fire, decreasing rehabilitation costs, and
forest management plans for reducing fire risks were among the main topics
that were discussed.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection presented the main results obtained
by the committee that was selected by the Minister of Environmental
Protection. The main results were:
- Natural system rehabilitation based on natural processes.
- Reducing the dense pine forest component of the Carmel landscape
- Desired landscape - a variety of patches: open areas, groves, woods and
mixed patches.
- Establishment of buffer zones between landscape units and around
settlements
- Landscaping Development for the communities in areas that are prone to
fire.
- Preserving the local pine tree population that is natural to the Carmel,
which is genetically distinct.
The importance of goat herding in the buffer zones and in the forest for
maintaining the clearings was presented.
The heads of the two regional municipalities, Dalyat el Carmel and Usafia
said they consider the forest an important resource. They added they would
like to work with KKL and the NPA and that they would like for discussions
and decisions regarding the Carmel forest management to be made together
with the local population.
Ecosystem services coming from nature but needing to serve people were
emphasized. Thus in every system the human factor should be considered by
using social science tools and need to consider cultural preferences which
other ecologic and economic tools cannot asses.
The role of the local population should also be understood including the
benefits of the forests as green lungs, pollution filters, improvers of
local climate and noise reducers and a general ad wide education program
should be established among the local population.
The day ended with a session about technological tools, remote sensing,
aerial photography and special analyses to assess fire risks and
projections. Another interesting tool presented was a Canadian thermal
camera which helps fire fighters track the fire front, hot spots and roots
fires.
On the third day participants took a field tour to the Carmel Forest to
assess the rehabilitation efforts, soil erosion and management successes and
difficulties in the Carmel area. The tour concluded with an open discussion
where the foreign visitors commented on the rehabilitation efforts,
emphasizing the importance of a long-term strategic plan for forest
management and mapping risky areas in the forest including soil erosion and
areas required fuel brakes.