Deadly gaps

A similar message is now coming from Greece as the threat of end of summer fires rapidly worsens.

“The financial crisis that looms over Greece has resulted in decimating the already scant funding for forest management and protection,” said Demetres Karavellas, Director of WWF Greece.

“The memory of the tragic summer of 2007, when over 270 thousand hectares of precious Mediterranean forest land was burnt and over 80 human lives were lost, should teach us that the cost of prevention and integrated management is always a cheaper and more effective solution, compared to the real cost of environmental crises, such as wildfires."

The two branches of WWF called on their governments to address numerous and deadly serious gaps in the national forest legislation.

“Forests need to be managed and protected primarily as vulnerable ecosystems, which are vital for human survival through climate change and not as land offered for easy profit,” they said.

Emphasis should be put on prevention, rather than fire suppression. Integrated management of forests as dynamic ecosystems throughout the year is cheaper and more effective, than the army of aerial and land-based fire fighting means needed to combat mega wildfires.

“Public participation and constant alert is crucial securing a better future for forests,” WWF said. “Volunteer fire-combating teams and organized social mobilization has on numerous occasions averted forest disasters.”