Wildfires: Prevention is the best defence, UN says

The wildfires burning across Europe and North America highlight the urgent need for action now – as climate change, land-use pressures and human activity make severe fires more likely in the future. The warning comes from the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) which said that more than 434,000 hectares have already burned across Europe this year, according to latest available data. “Every summer reminds us that wildfire is no longer an exceptional event but an increasingly predictable consequence of a warming climate,” said Paola Deda, Director of UNECE’s Environment and Forests Division. “While emergency response remains essential, our greatest opportunity lies in prevention, sustainable forest management and building more resilient landscapes and communities.” Forests destroyed, homes evacuatedIn Europe, wildfires have destroyed some 42,000 hectares of pine forest in the Gironde region of France and forced tens of thousands of residents and tourists to evacuate. Neighbouring Spain has recorded more than 200,000 hectares burned, or twice its historical average, making this one of the country’s worst wildfire seasons in decades. The European Union (EU) recently warned that t...