ecology and the fight against fire, the marriage of convenience

by time news

The controversy marked the summer debates in a France on fire. In July, while the pines of Teste-de-Buch were burning in Gironde, elected environmentalists were accused – wrongly – of having prevented work to defend forests against fire (DFCI), these devices which facilitate the rapid response of firefighters, such as tracks. The controversy echoed the criticisms which had targeted, a year earlier, the managers of a nature reserve in the Var, partly reduced to ashes.

Behind the tensions exacerbated by a disaster can hide a real fundamental conflict between naturalists and local decision-makers, and a real difficulty: reconciling protection of biodiversity and preventive measures against fire. The fire-fighting strategy involves deforested and cleared strips wide enough to stop or slow down the flames. “This compartmentalization is opposed to measures taken in favor of biodiversity, such as corridors that allow species to migrate”, recalls Bernard Prévosto, forest ecologist at the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (Inrae).

“We have to find a middle ground”

Conversely, growing organically in the middle of a bed is beneficial for insects, but can be problematic for firefighters. “Before, the vines served us as places of refuge and support, testifies Grégory Allione, president of the National Federation of Firefighters of France. Today they are burning because there is dry grass. It’s the same in the Landes de Gascogne. Forests that are not maintained not only allow the spread of the disaster, but become real thorns in the side for firefighters. You have to find a middle ground. »

The search for this balance is all the more crucial as the geographical extension of the risk of fire, linked to global warming, is combined with the development of protected natural areas, where environmental standards are more restrictive. Their share must reach 30% of the national territory in 2030, according to the objective announced by the government. Fifteen biological reserves must thus be created in the forest, according to an already existing model. “Forest systems are left to age, with standing dead wood and an accumulation of organic matter on the ground, explains Bernard Prévosto. It is good for biodiversity. But it’s also a lot of fuel. »

How to reconcile issues that may seem contradictory? “DFCI’s developments are not to be opposed to the protection of the environment”, assures Julien Bouillie, deputy director of forests and natural risks at the National Forestry Office (ONF), which manages a quarter of the 17 million hectares of French forest. “On the contrary, they ultimately aim to serve the biodiversity they shelter by preventing the occurrence or severity of a fire. This is a useful point to clarify. he insists.

The framework of the public body also reminds that the ONF teams take into account the particularities of the lands sheltering remarkable species or particular habitats. “These elements are concretely integrated into the choice of technical work routes, while ensuring the need to have an operational firewall system.This can also involve the use of suitable machinery, which exerts less pressure on the ground”.

Similarly, specific strategies are implemented for the biological reserves managed by the ONF. These islands remain accessible by a service adapted to land firefighting means. “A reflection is also carried out on the spaces which surround it, adds Julien Bouillie. Through regular thinning, sustainable and multifunctional forest management aims to reduce the presence of flammable and combustible biomass. » The same type of reflection concerns, within the national parks, the so-called “freely evolving” hectares, which are neither exploited nor managed.

“The arrangements must be thought out”

Associations are campaigning for this type of natural site to expand in France. “These forests can indeed be part of the landscape composition of France, comments Christophe Chauvin, who leads the Forest network within France nature environment (FNE). But it is hard to imagine that they cover very large surfaces. We must, at the very least, find methods of partitioning, unless we agree to let them burn. »

Former head of forestry issues at the FNE, Hervé Le Bouler also defends the need to continue to develop forests facing climate change (1). “They must remain accessible, we must open tracks, we must do DFCI, it is indisputable, he judges. Today, nature finds itself confronted with something for which it is not prepared.. Foresters must become shepherds of the trees. We must increasingly intervene, develop, manage, but in a different way. »

More than free evolution, Hervé Le Bouler recommends above all reinforcing the diversity of the forests themselves to promote biodiversity, while limiting the impact of the flames. With mixed essences and alternating backgrounds. “All this must be thought out in a more ecological way, in a context of lack of water”adds Christophe Chauvin, who shares this vision.

In an information report published in August, Forest and vegetation fires: preventing conflagration, senators advocate for their part that the DFCI policy be systematically integrated into the management plans of protected natural areas. The rapporteurs also advocate a “enhanced dialogue” to prevent disputes on this subject. « Ecology is always complicated, says Bernard Prevosto. Everyone has different points of view, you have to manage to reconcile them. » At Teste-de-Buch, the controversy is over. The threat of fire will continue.

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A new model of firefighting prevention

– President Emmanuel Macron is to bring together all civil security actors on October 14 at the Élysée to reflect on a new model of firefighting prevention.

– By mid-September, more than 65,000 hectares of forest had gone up in smoke in France. It is the largest area burned at this stage of the year since the start of the use of satellite data in 2006, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (Effis).

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