Suggestion

What can the Governments do?

To extinguish wildfires:

A firefighter battles the Blue Ridge Fire burning in Yorba Linda, California, U.S (Ringo,2020)

To extinguish wildfires, it is important to predict the spread of wildfires to be further developed accurately in order to respond to large wildfires effectively. In the country, using data such as location, topography, clinical, and weather conditions of the ignition site, predicting the spread of wildfires by time, and preventing the spread of the fire in advance.

Using drone sensing in prescribed burns to prevent wildfires. (UCLA., 2021).

Accurate orders should be issued, not congested ones. During the Australian wildfires, confusion occurred as residents could not easily evacuate due to the COVID-19 blockade that continued until that week. Thousands of people in Vitoria were evacuated to the beach to avoid wildfires due to inadequate shelters leading to confusion at the blinking of the evacuation. Thanks to the wind change, the flames did not reach the beach, avoiding the worst. If the wind had not changed, there would have been tremendous casualties.

To Prevent Wildfires:

CCTVS

For systematic wildfire management, evolution and prevention are also important. It analyzes big data such as weather changes and clinical and topographical factors across the country and provides real-time wildfire risk information(). The government should expand the supply of CCTVs with sensors that automatically detect flames and smoke where there is a high risk of a large wildfire and establish a dense forest fire prevention system without blind spots by using forest fire drone monitors and surveillance cameras.

Navigation

The government should provide forest fire information and a function to guide evacuation sites through navigation to help residents quickly evacuate to a safe place in a wildfire. After studying the affordable conditions and timing for wildfires to occur, they need to find areas that meet those conditions and observe them intensively. It is also important to patrol the area intensively.

Active forest Management

They should establish a preemptive wildfire prevention system to prevent the spread of large wildfires in advance through active forest management. The most effective way to prevent wildfires is to control the density of the forest to an appropriate level by removing herbs, shrubs, octopus, dead trees, and thermal trees, which are the fuel of the forest.

2007 California wildfire Case

There was a huge wildfire in U.S. California, which began on October 21, 2007, and lasted about ten days (CBS, 2007). Looking at the government's response to wildfire is important. U.S has a disaster-related administrative agency Federal Emergency Management Agency, a federal government agency (FEMA, n.d.). The Disaster Management Agency is an organization to deal with disasters related to typhoons, earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, wildfires, dangerous substances, and terrorism. It was in charge of declaring a national emergency and federal support for the affected areas.

First, firefighting personnel deployed to extinguish wildfires were mobilized as mutual support programs between different states. For instance, San Diego County, the main affected area of the wildfire, has no separate fire department, so it has received support from San Diego municipalities and nearby counties of Los Angeles County (Mae, 2021). In particular, the state government declared an emergency as the wildfire became unprecedentedly large, and the governor's order supported the National Guard.

Second, evacuation orders for residents were issued by field commanders and ordered temporary evacuation of local residents who are expected to suffer from wildfires. Evacuation orders are quickly transmitted through disaster broadcasting through TV and radio or quickly delivered through the alarm facility (911 reporting facility: telephone notification of the evacuation area).

Third, the government, the Red Cross, and volunteer organizations are responsible for the operation of temporary shelters and the distribution of relief supplies to victims. Qualcomm Stadium is a large stadium with a capacity of about 40,000 people (Bowen, 2017), and the city of San Diego was in charge of renting the venue, guiding the victims, moving in, and distributing relief supplies, and volunteers were in charge of installing residential facilities and entertainment facilities.

Fourth, a large number of prison inmates were put into the fire extinguishing site, which was in accordance with the county jail's decision. Inmates who had been trained to extinguish the fire were used to reduce their two-day prison terms if they were put into the fire. It is often the case in the United States to put inmates into the fire (Barford, 2015).

National companies

Global / International

Forests, Climate and Biomass Working Group, Environmental Paper Network

Environmental Paper Network (EPN) is a global coalition of over 150 NGOs working together for environmental and social responsibility in the forest, pulp, and paper industries, and fostering work on forest biomass use for energy. EPN connects this powerful movement of independent organizations, strategically leveraging their collective expertise and resources, and amplifying their work, in order to accelerate change and environmental improvement. The network has three non-hierarchical, regional hubs, EPN-North America, EPN-International, and EPN-China.

Rainforest Alliance

Founded in 1987, this international non-profit organization works at the intersection of business, agriculture, and forests. They build alliances to protect forests, improve the livelihoods of farmers and forest communities, promote human rights, and help communities mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis. Rainforest Alliance merged with UTZ in 2018. It now supports the certification of several tropical agriculture commodities and conducts grassroots projects with indigenous peoples and local communities on community forestry.

Australia

Bob Brown Foundation

The Foundation promotes the protection and enhancement of and provides information and education about the wild and scenic beauty of Tasmania, the ecological integrity of Australia, and the happiness of humanity on Earth. Key campaigns include advocating for the protection of all of Australia’s native forests; protection of Australia’s largest temperate rainforest in Takayna (the Tarkine); and engaging in a range of tactics including nonviolent direct action, rallies, legal challenges, lobbying, and markets campaigns.

Environment East Gippsland, Inc. (EEG)

EEG is the longest-running community forest group working for the protection of Victoria’s last and largest area of an ancient forest. It has been working to protect East Gippsland’s natural areas and wildlife for over 30 years. They play a vital role in information gathering on the local logging industry and other threats. EEG also works on broader issues such as climate warming and the role forests play in moderating climate and carbon capture.

South East Region Conservation Alliance (SERCA)

SERCA campaigns for new native forest management to protect Australia’s unique forest environmental values. It considers that over-logging has severely damaged forests and fights Commonwealth and State governments that threaten to add another damaging use for native forests—logging and burning native forest biomass for large-scale electricity generation. SERCA co-operates with conservation and Indigenous organizations and supports local and regional campaigners, scientists, and economists striving to protect precious public native forests.

United States

Dogwood Alliance

Dogwood Alliance mobilizes diverse voices to protect Southern forests from destructive industrial logging. They work at the intersection of forests, climate, and justice in the US South, partnering with frontline communities to stop the growth of industrial biomass and to create policies that protect healthy standing forests and economically sustainable communities.

John Muir Project of Earth Island Institute

This project is dedicated to the ecological management of federal public forestlands. Its goal is to ensure optimal ecological conditions to support and restore native biodiversity in the forest ecosystems, which has been severely degraded and damaged by decades of commercial logging and suppression of wildland fires. It is supported by Earth Island Institute, which develops and supports projects that counteract threats to the biological and cultural diversity that sustains the environment.

Greenpeace USA

Greenpeace is a global, independent campaigning organization that uses peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future.

NRDC (The Natural Resources Defense Council)

NRDC is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world’s natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing.

Partnership for Policy Integrity (PFPI)

This US-based non-profit organization uses science, advocacy, and litigation to promote science-based carbon accounting for bioenergy and oppose renewable energy subsidies for burning forest biomass. PFPI works on carbon, air pollution, and forest impacts; publishes in the peer-reviewed literature; engages with regulatory and financial sectors, and educates US and EU policymakers. In March 2019 they filed a case against the EU, challenging the eligibility of forest biomass for renewable energy status in the RED II.

Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC)

The SELC uses the power of the law to champion the environment of the Southeastern USA. Their team of more than 80 dedicated attorneys stands up for clean water, healthy air, mountains, forests, and the coast. They work at national, regional, state, and local levels, and in all three branches of government, to strengthens laws, make agencies do their job, and, when necessary, go to court to stop environmental abuses or set far-reaching precedents.

Page updated

Report abuse