COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

Brussels, 22 March 2010

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I/A ITEM NOTE From : Council Secretariat To : COREPER / Council No. prev. doc.: 7685/10 Subject: Draft Council conclusions on prevention of forest fires within the European Union - Adoption

1.

On 4 March 2009, the Commission submitted to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, a Communication on a Community approach on the prevention of natural and man-made disasters1. On the basis of that Communication, the Council adopted Conclusions on a Community framework on disaster prevention within the EU on 30 November 20092.

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7075/1/09 - COM(2009) 82 final/2. 15394/09 LRV/kv DG H 4 1

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2.

As a follow-up, the Presidency drew up a set of draft Council Conclusions on prevention of forest fires within the European Union.

3.

These draft Council conclusions were examined by the Working Party on Civil Protection on 13 January and 10 February 2010. On 17 March the Working Party reached agreement on the compromise text set out in the Annex.

4.

On this basis, the Permanent Representatives Committee is asked to invite the Council to adopt the conclusions set out in the Annex as an "A" item on the agenda of a forthcoming meeting.

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ANNEX Draft Council conclusions on prevention of forest fires within the European Union

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

1.

Having regard to the Council Decision of 8 November 2007 establishing a Community Civil Protection Mechanism (Mechanism Recast)1, and in particular recital (7) of that Decision stating that prevention is of significant importance for protection against natural, technological and environmental disasters and would require further action to be considered, and recital (11) on relevant notification in the event of an imminent threat of transboundary effects;

2.

Having regard to the Council Decision of 5 March 2007 establishing a Civil Protection Financial Instrument2, which lays down rules for provision of financial assistance for measures to prevent or reduce the effects of an emergency;

3.

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 of 11 November 2002 establishing the European Union Solidarity Fund3; Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 of 20 September 2005 on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD)4; Regulation (EC) No 1080/2006 of 5 July 2006 on the European Regional Development Fund5;

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OJ L 314, 1.12.2007, p.9. OJ L 71, 10.3.2007, p.9. OJ L 311, 14.11.2002, p.3. OJ L 277, 21.10.2005, p.1. OJ L 210, 31.7.2006, p.1. LRV/kv DG H 4 3

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4.

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 614/2007 of 23 May 2007 concerning the Financial Instrument for the Environment (LIFE+)6, in particular its Multi-annual Strategic Programme (Annex II);

5.

Recalling the Commission Communication on a Community approach on the prevention of natural and man-made disasters7; Recalling the Council conclusions of 30 November 2009 on a Community framework on disaster prevention within the EU8, in particular paragraph 28 on the major components of the Community disaster prevention framework and of government prevention policies;

6.

Recalling the White Paper 'Adapting to climate change: towards a European Framework for Action'9, which suggests an update of the forestry strategy and the launch of a debate on options for an EU approach to forest protection and forest information systems; Recalling the Council conclusions of 25 June 2009 on Climate change: Towards a comprehensive EU adaptation strategy10;

7.

Having regard to the Convention on Biological Diversity, to which the European Union and its Member States are contracting parties, and to the Commission Communication on "Halting Biodiversity Loss by 2010 and Beyond: Sustaining ecosystem services for human well-being"11 and bearing in mind that controlled fires in some ecosystems are a prerequisite for conserving and developing biological diversity;

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OJ L 149, 9.6.2007, p.1. 7075/1/09 - COM (2009) 82 final/2. 15394/09. 8526/09. 10435/09. 9769/06 - COM(2006) 216 final LRV/kv DG H 4 4

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8.

Recalling the Commission Communication of 5 March 2008 on reinforcing the Union's Disaster Capacity12; Recalling the Council conclusions of 16 June 2008 on Reinforcing the Union's Disaster Response Capacity towards an integrated approach to managing disasters13; Recalling the Commission Communication on an EU Forest Action Plan14 and the midterm evaluation of that Plan; Recalling the Council conclusions of 24 October 2006 on an EU Forest Action Plan 2007-201115;

9.

10.

Taking note of the European Parliament Resolution of 16 September 2009 on forest fires in the summer 200916;

11.

Taking note of the outcome of the European technical seminar on preventing and fighting forest fires, held in Madrid, Spain, on 20 May 2009 and the outcome of the international forest protection conference organised in La Granja-Valsan, Spain, on 6-7 April 2010 and of the Commission Green Paper on Forest Protection and Information in the EU: Preparing forests for climate change17;

12.

Noting the long experience of past forest fires and exercises and the importance of drawing lessons from these and other EU and Member State projects on potential preventative measures18 and noting that the features and situation of forest fires vary significantly between different regions;

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7562/08. 10128/08. 10448/06 - COM(2006) 302 final. 14043/06. P7 TA(2009)0013. 7060/10 + ADD1 - COM(2010) 66 final Such as the FIRE 4 - project funded under the 2006 pilot project on transboundary cooperation. LRV/kv DG H 4 5

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THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

13.

Recalls that, in recent years, the impact in certain regions of the European Union of forest fires and drought has become increasingly severe, resulting in the loss of human lives and property, including cultural and natural heritage, the destruction of economic and social infrastructure and damage to the environment;

14.

Recognises that as a result of climate change and socioeconomic and cultural factors, the increased frequency and intensity of fires is likely to bring greater loss of human life, degradation of already fragile ecosystems, further desertification and destruction of economic and social infrastructure;

15.

Recalls that analyses carried out by the United Nations and other international organisations have shown increasing vulnerability to such situations19, which call for all stages of disaster management, from prevention and early warning to recovery and rehabilitation, to be addressed in an integrated manner for the purpose of building resilience; Emphasises the need to step up action by the Member States and the European Union to prevent forest fires, and that the Commission Communication of 4 March 2009 on "A Community approach on the prevention of natural and man-made disasters" provides a good basis for this work;

16.

Emphasises that Member States bear primary responsibility for preventing forest fires and protecting their citizens and environment, while the EU can support and complement the actions of the Member States, for which purpose it is necessary to have an effective national prevention policy backed up by medium and long-term action on land-use planning;

19

Global assessment report on disaster risk reduction (2009). LRV/kv DG H 4 6

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17.

Highlights the importance of improving the safety20 of people, property and the environment in the European Union, by applying a range of efficient and effective measures to prevent forest fires, comprising improvements to the regulatory frameworks as appropriate, aimed at reducing or eliminating the likelihood of fires or keeping their effects to a minimum;

18.

Invites the Member States, as appropriate, to:

a)

ensure that the relevant authorities incorporate forest fire prevention and preparedness measures into urban planning and into rural and forestry land-use planning, paying special attention to:

forest areas adjoining urban zones, in order to ensure safe housing construction and infrastructure to improve forest resilience to fires;

the most vulnerable and high-risk forest areas, with the aim of providing them with greater protection;

avoiding the adoption of, and abolishing existing, provisions which encourage the speculative use of burnt areas;

classification of forest areas according to the risk of forest fire, including the designation of high-risk areas21, establishing appropriate compensation measures when the prevention measures which are adopted and implemented place exceptional obligations on the surrounding population;

20

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The Stockholm Programme An open and secure Europe serving and protecting the citizen (17024/09). Taking into account work conducted in this field within the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS). LRV/kv DG H 4 7

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b)

reinforce forest fire prevention in border areas, in particular by enhancing cooperation between neighbouring countries22, including training and procedures for communication with third parties;

c)

make information on national prevention measures available for forest risk areas via the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), in addition to information on forest fire occurrence;

d)

under the existing EU financing instruments (Rural Development, LIFE+, etc.) encourage training and appropriate rewards for professional forestry workers so as to enhance standards of forest protection by linking these to sustainable forest management;

e)

step up the fight against criminal activities connected to forest fires, encouraging in particular investigation of the causes, and the prosecution of offences;

f)

improve coordination between all actors involved in preventing forest fires, such as environmental, agricultural, forestry, land-use planning and civil protection authorities;

g)

raise the awareness of the general public as regards forest fire prevention by means of environmental education, awareness and information campaigns, particularly as regards climate change and biodiversity;

h)

promote sustainable forest management in order to reduce the fuel potential for forest fires and to increase the resilience of forests to future fires;

22

Tapping into the assistance offered by the European territorial cooperation objective of cohesion policy. LRV/kv DG H 4 8

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i)

make full use of EU funding opportunities23 to implement national forest fire prevention strategies and measures, including through the inclusion of prevention measures in national forest fire recovery programmes in receipt of EU funding;

j)

in order to reduce the occurrence of forest fires caused by deliberate human action or negligence related to structural problems in the countryside, enhance coordination with relevant policy makers and take these causes into account in relevant policy areas;

k)

inform the Commission by July 2011 of the progress made regarding forest fire prevention, in particular by means of the action listed in this paragraph;

19.

Invites the Commission and the Member States jointly to refine early-warning systems, making use of the most modern technology available and paying particular attention to public information, so as to open the way for suitable preventive action to keep the occurrence and impact of forest fires to a minimum;

23

Such as, inter alia, national and regional rural development and cohesion policy programmes and operational programmes. LRV/kv DG H 4 9

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20.

Invites the Commission to take the following action:

a)

continue and enhance the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS ) on the basis of data supplied by the Member States, with the inclusion of information on the causes of and reasons for forest fires, as well as an assessment of greenhouse gas emissions produced by them, for which purpose the Commission is asked to step up efforts in this area;

b)

step up efforts within the EU research programmes on forest fires, including the use of technological and mapping methods, particularly as regards monitoring24, detection, early warning, fire-fighting systems and methods, post-fire regeneration, connections with climate change and potential trends under its influence, and social risk factors originating in patterns of human behaviour;

c)

include forest fires in the priorities to be addressed in the ongoing work on exchange of good practice and development of guidelines on risk assessment and mapping and guidelines on minimum standards for hazard-specific disaster prevention;

d)

continue to encourage the Member States to make full use of funding opportunities to support national forest fire prevention programmes;

24

Taking into account work conducted in this field within the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS). LRV/kv DG H 4 10

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e)

provide an overview of (co)financed projects and actions on forest fires and identify and assess options for better integrating forest fire prevention into EU funding instruments that support sustainable forest management, afforestation and forest recovery after fires, such as the inclusion in the funding instruments of a provision requiring the inclusion of prevention measures in the programmes funded;

f)

facilitate coordination between the Member States and other nearby countries in providing assistance on prevention for regions affected by forest fires;

g)

take these Council Conclusions into account in the context of the follow-up to the White Paper 'Adapting to climate change: towards a European Framework for Action', in particular with regard to the debate on forest protection and forest information launched by the Commission in the context of its Green Paper on Forest Protection and Information and the EU Forest Strategy and Action Plan;

h)

report to the Council by the end of 2011 on the information provided by the Member States in accordance with paragraph 18(k) and on the action listed in paragraph 20, and present relevant further initiatives aiming at reinforcing the EU's forest fire prevention action.

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