The Government launches the national strategy for the defense of forests and non-wooded areas against fires

In this context, they are launching the national strategy for the defense of forests and non-wooded areas against fires.

Scientific studies are warning us: with climate change, the risk of forest and vegetation fires is gradually spreading to new territories, with a fire season that is both earlier and longer. The summer of 2022 was marked by historically devastating fires for French forests, given a prolonged drought. More recently, the largest fire of 2023 took place in mid-April, almost two months before the usual season from June to the end of August. Internationally, the recent fires in Los Angeles also illustrate the already visible consequences of climate change elsewhere on the planet.

A new strategy to simplify and unify the State's action in the face of fires

Following on from the announcements made by the President of the Republic in 2022 and within the framework of the law of 10 July 2023 aimed at strengthening prevention and the fight against the intensification and spread of fire risk, this strategy will make it possible to mobilise in a uniform and coordinated manner all the tools and means of risk prevention, crisis management and regional planning in the face of extreme climatic events. It is thus perfectly consistent with the National Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change (PNACC) put out for consultation on 25 October.

This strategy is being discussed for two months and will give rise to local consultations, at the level of the defense zones. These consultations will bring together all the stakeholders, ranging from the National Forestry Office (ONF) to representatives of civil security, including approved environmental protection associations and, of course, professional organizations in the agricultural and forestry-wood sectors.

It is based on three axes:

• Preventing fires from breaking out;
• Reduce burnt areas;
• Limit the consequences.

This strategy will, for example, make it possible to coordinate the action of Météo France, which sets up a forest weather forecast during the fire season, communication on legal obligations for clearing brush, maps of classified massifs and even the reinforcement of the number of columns of firefighters that can be mobilized.

For Agnès PANNIER-RUNACHER: "The effects of climate change are already visible and it is our responsibility to adapt. In line with the National Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change (PNACC) put out for consultation last fall and which I will present in the coming weeks, this new National Strategy for the Defense of Forests and Non-Forested Areas will allow France to implement fire prevention actions and protect areas located at the interface between wooded or vegetated massifs and built-up areas. Collective mobilization is essential for better protection of people and property against forest and vegetation fires, which is why I welcome the consultation that is opening over the next two months. It must provide us with shared actions to protect the French people and preserve our ecosystems and the richness of our biodiversity."