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North American Forest Commission – Fire Management Working Group Report. Boyd Case Canadian Forest Service January 2003, Boise, Idaho. Presentation Outline. 1. Introduction 2. NAFC-Fire Management Working Group Objectives History Current membership Recent activities
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North American Forest Commission – Fire Management Working Group Report Boyd Case Canadian Forest Service January 2003, Boise, Idaho
Presentation Outline 1. Introduction 2. NAFC-Fire Management Working Group • Objectives • History • Current membership • Recent activities 3. Future Challenges and Opportunities for FMWG
Ecological effects • ecosystem health • biodiversity • landscape metrics Socio-economic impacts • life and property • timber supply • water and air quality Fire is a natural component of most forest ecosystems in North America
Fire Regimes Infrequent, high intensity crown fire (e.g., boreal) Frequent, low intensity surface fire (e.g., ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir) Eric Knapp USGS Flannigan et al. Little or no fire (coastal or tropical/sub-tropical rain forest) Wide range of natural fire regimes
Fire Statistics Annual Averages Country No. Fires Area Burned (ha) Canada 8,000 2.7 million Mexico 6,500 0.2 million USA 69,000 1.6 million Recent Extreme Years Country Year No. Fires Area Burned (ha) Canada 1995 8,500 7.2 million Mexico 1998 14,500 0.85 million USA 2000 88,000 3.2 million
Ecosystem Management is Risk Management Sustainable forest/resource/land management is a form of risk management Must seek to balance • Shorter-term socio-economic risks associated with fire • Longer-term ecological risks associated with no-fire (or the wrong type of fire) Social Ecological Economic
Fire Management Working Group Objectives, History, Membership, Activities
NAFC-FMWG Objectives • Exchange information, ideas, and technology aimed at advancing forest fire management policies and practices. • Promote mutual aid and technical exchanges among Canada, Mexico and the United States of America to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of forest fire management. • Actively support and participate with international agencies to conduct and promote activities that will foster world-wide cooperation and development pertaining to fire management.
NAFC-FMWG History Established in 1962. Was one of the first five working groups of the NAFC. Annual gathering of the fire management leadership from Canada, Mexico, and USA has been critical to facilitating international collaboration (both directly and indirectly). Has met annually (with a few exceptions) on a rotational basis among the three countries. 36th meeting held October 15-18, 2002 in Edmonton-Jasper, Alberta, Canada.
NAFC-FMWG Membership Canada • Canadian Forest Service (Kelvin Hirsch) • Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (Allan Jeffrey) • Canadian Fire Management agency representative (Don Harrison-AB) Mexico • CONAFOR (Gustavo Cárdenas Bejaráno, Roberto Martinez Dominguez, Victor Manual Martinez Rogriguez) • INIFAP (J. Germán Flores Garnica) • MNCF (Juan Manuel Fraustro Leyva) USA • USDA Forest Service (Alice Forbes, John Schulte) • US Dept. Interior – BLM (Larry Hamilton, Tom Frey) Observers Includes representatives from state/provincial governments; national, professional and non-governmental organizations; and other nations
NAFC-FMWG Examples of Past Achievement 1. Major international study tours 1968 – Fire management in Canada and the US (27 people from 25 countries; 2-month tour) 1975 – Mexico and USA (40 people from 27 countries) 1980 – Prescribed fire in USA (24 specialists from 10 countries) 2. International Conferences 1989 – Boston (Wildland/Urban Interface) 1997 – Vancouver (Fire and Sustainable Development)
NAFC-FMWG Examples of Past Achievements 3. Fire Prevention Sub-Committee Development, evaluation, and acceptance of 8 international fire prevention symbols. 4. Forest Fire News Publication 1966 to late 1980s; technical magazine (20-40 pages) 5. Glossary of Forest Fire Management Terms 1978 - English/Spanish/French – 288 terms
NAFC-FMWG Examples of Past Achievements 6. Mutual Assistance Agreements Border agreements, first strike agreements, emergency assistance (e.g., US to Mexico in 1998, Canada to US in 2000) 7. Personnel Exchanges/Training Fire suppression specialists 8. Facilitate Collaborative Research e.g., fire equipment testing, FrostFire
NAFC-FMWG Activities – Recent Initiatives 1. Support and Enhancement of the Mexican Fire Program a) Mexico Technical Support and Training Program USAID and USFS/BLM – extensive funding ($540,000 K remaining, 39 proposed projects) b) Mexican Fire Enhancement Fund Training and technical assistance ($50K CDN provided in 2001) c) Mexican Fire Management Information System Adaptation and implementation of Canadian Fire Danger and Information Systems in Mexico (just approved $56K CDN seed money for phase 1 of the $270K project)
NAFC-FMWG Activities – Recent Initiatives 2. Enhanced Border Agreements Renewal of Canada/US agreement in January 2003 US/Mexico cross border agreement being negotiated 3. Incident Command System Implementation and transfer of US-based system to Canada and Mexico 4. Third International Wildland Fire Conference (October 2003, Sydney) $50K CDN seed money Members of the International Liaison Committee Promotion and identifying sponsors
Theme: • Urban and Rural Communities living in Fire Prone Environments: Managing the Future of Global Problems • Sub-Themes: • Balancing Conflicts: Social/cultural, ecological, economic • Future Trends and Their Influence on Fire Management • Enhancing Global Understanding and Cooperation
Participants: • 500-800 delegates from 30+ countries • Managers, policy makers, manufacturers, educators, researchers • Global Wildland Summit (proposed)Develop strategies to support global cooperation and information exchange that enhance wildland fire management. • www.wildlandfire03.com Eric Knapp USGS
Fire Management Working Group: Challenges and Opportunities
60s and 70s Awareness of common Issues (study tours) Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4 Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4 70s and 80s Information dissemination (Forest Fire News, Conferences) 1990s Cooperation and Assistance (Mutual aid agreements, Technical support) Future True Collaboration (Research, resource sharing and international leadership) Review of the Growth of the FMWG
Challenges and Opportunities • Evaluate mandate within present context of sustainable resource management / ecosystem management • Ensure group’s activities are meaningful and effective (planned and measurable) • Facilitate research collaboration/cooperation • Establish linkages to other working group