Financial Times - EU Forest Fires Likely To Increase, Ministers Say

[hatrack]

ore catastrophic forest fires like those that engulfed large parts of Portugal and Spain this summer will result from a combination of land abandonment and climate change, European environment and agriculture ministers were warned on Sunday.

Some countries have seen more than 20 per cent of the rural population leave the land since the 1970s, which leads to large areas of land being poorly managed. When this happens, brush and debris can build up, which can easily be ignited. As droughts and heatwaves become more frequent because of climate change, this is likely to become more of a problem. Jacqueline McGlade, the head of the European Environment Agency, said: “You have this brush lying about like so many incendiary devices across the countryside. We are going to see more problems with fires because of this.”

The EU's agriculture and environment ministers were holding their first ever joint discussion in London over the weekend, to discuss climate change. Prof McGlade warned ministers that action, such as changes to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), would be needed to stop the depopulation of rural areas.

Other problems can also result from the abandonment of agricultural land, such as a decrease in biodiversity and the creation of large reservoirs of animal diseases, caused by increasing numbers of feral animals unchecked by farmers. Europe's ageing population is accelerating the move from the countryside to towns, as older people find it easier to live near urban centres where they have better access to heath services and other amenities.

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http://news.ft.com/cms/s/f31caa78-22e7-11da-86cc-00000e2511c8.html