Europe: Development and Fire1

In response to socio-economic changes in recent decades, such as rural depopulation, concentration of the population in urban areas, and priority shifts in forestry policy, the risk of fires in the countries of southern Europe is on a rise. Until now, the large investments made in fire suppression resources have produced acceptable results. However, ecological, economic, demographic and political conditions have led to more and more difficult situations involving more frequent large fires. Multilateral assistance between countries and the development of a regional prevention policy should, in the immediate future, be the focal point for international cooperation in response to this shared problem