- Author
-
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
|
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
- Title
- International Forest Fire News.
- Coporate
- United Nations, Geneva
- Report
-
No. 22
April 2000
120 p.
- Distribution
- For more information contact: Website: http://www.uni-freiburg.de/fireglobe
- Keywords
-
forest fires
|
wildland fires
|
fire science
|
fire research
|
ecologyy
- Identifiers
- Algeria; Brazil; Bulgaria; Cuba; Finland; Greece; India; Indonesia; Kazakhstan; Namibia; Russian Federation; Spain; South Africa; United States of America (USA)
- Abstract
- Until recently the mandate of the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) of the United Nations has been restricted to the "classical" SAR cases such as saving lives after earthquakes. Experience has shown, however, that secondary effects of natural and technogenic disasters, including large wildfires such as those which occurred during the El Nio-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) episode of 1997-98, require additional specialist advice in conjunction with SAR response and other humanitarian aid missions. The INSARAG family offers an appropriate structure. At the regional INSARAG Europe-Africa meeting in Germany (December 1999) a first proposal was elaborated to establish an INSARAG Fire Group consisting of three elements: Wildland Fire, Hazardous Materials (Hazmat), and Industrial Fire. At a meeting at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA) in January 2000 it was agreed that the original mandate of INSARAG in addition to search and rescue would also cover wider aspects of disaster/emergency response. This could include a variety of natural and human-made disasters, including wildland fires.