Vegetation wild fires in the mediterranean basin: evolution and trends

Vegetation fires burnt an average 200,000 ha annually in the Mediterranean Basin between 1960 and 1970 ; the figure attained over 400,000 ha in the 1970’s and over 600,000 ha in the 1980's. This three fold increase over 20 years is turning into an annual summer-catastrophe in the Basin, in spite of heavy investments and large budget expenditure spent to prevent and combat the scourge. The paper gives detailed figures of number and acreage of fires in the various countries of the Basin, analyses the causes and evolutionary trends ; some further regional details are provided for southern France. The cost of preventing and combatting vegetation wild fires is evaluated for each country. The global cost for the Basin is in the vicinity of one billion U.S.$, as an annual average in the 1980's. But this figure does not take into account a number of havocs which are difficult to quantify such as : erosion, sedimentation, the silting up of reservoirs, floodings, loss of nutrients, hence decrease of fertility and productivity ; loss of wildlife and game, of amenities and aesthetic value, etc. The author advocates an expansion of research, demonstration and education of the public and politicians on the use of prescribed burning in conjunction with the systematic utilisation of browsing animals (cervidae, goats, camelidae) in order to reduce the fuel buildup, hence fire hazards and the ever increasing financial burden on rural communities , not to speak of losses in human life.