Forest fire legislation: Reactive or proactive?

Ecological Indicators 104 (2019) 137–144

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Ecological Indicators journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ecolind

Forest fire legislation: Reactive or proactive? a,⁎

Paulo Reis Mourao , Vítor Domingues Martinho a b

T

b

Dept Economics & NIPE, University of Minho, 4700 Braga, Portugal Agricultural School, Polytechnic Institute of Viseu, 3500 Viseu, Portugal

A R T I C LE I N FO

A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Forest fire legislation Literature survey Reactivity

The literature about forest fire legislation is extensive, highlighting several perspectives, different methodologies of analysis and considering diverse parts of the world as the basis of study. In these frameworks the discussions about the legal and policy instruments are not always consensual, what calls for more contributions in these fields. This study surveys the literature available, using the Web of Science platform and focusing on the subject of forest fire legislation. About sixty documents were analyzed covering the twenty-years period from 1997 to 2017. The objective is to contribute to the debate about this contested topic, specifically in terms of whether forest fire legislation is reactive to catastrophic occurrences or proactive, if it is sufficient for policies’ designing, if it is complementary and whether some instruments are in conflict. The literature review shows that several authors argue that forest fire legislation is reactive to large occurrences, where government focuses primarily on the extent of the burnt area rather than the forestry development. Additionally, forest fire legislation is interrelated with other aspects, including legislative instruments’ effectiveness or forest management and planning. Finally, the conflicts or complementarity among the legal documents are addressed. The findings presented here could be interesting insights for the several stakeholders related with the forest fire legislation, namely for the policymakers.

1. Introduction

aspects of our lives (Ladanyi et al., 2015; Huntsinger et al., 2017) Indeed, the discussion about forest fires legislation seems simple and the meaning of terms like proactive (reacts early and focused on fire prevention) or reactive (reacts to an action, focused on focused on fire suppression and forgetting the sources of the problem) seems clear and easily understandable in a quick search in internet, where they are terms considered in some cases as antagonistic (Tedim et al., 2015). However, these differences between these two concepts are not understood in the same way by the several stakeholders related with the forest fire. In any case, our perspective is that a reactive forest fire legislation cannot be considered, also, as proactive, because it is a reaction to solve anything that already happened. It would be proactive if the catastrophic fires do not occur again or if at least the reactive legislation reduces the risks of new fire occurrences, however the reality does not highlight this desirable context. This question about the reactivity and proactivity related with the forest fire was, also, explored by a document from the Government of British Columbia (2010). In this framework, in a perspective of contributing to greater understanding of forest fire legislation, to clarify our perspective and to highlight what the international literature says about this topic, the objective of this work is to review the literature available about this subject. About sixty works were considered, retrieved from the Web of

Legislation is an important instrument for any management or strategic plan inside any sector, namely due to its normative imposition and because it may function as guidelines for different stakeholders. With respect to forest fires the legislative instruments have a crucial role, namely in terms of prevention (for example, reducing the fuel load, preparing the structures of access to the forest and improving the water availability), more than in the suppression (the availability of the means for firefighting not should be the main focus), taking into account the new landscape (land abandonment and high fuel loads), climate and socio-economic conditions. Forest legislation and policy are, in fact, determinant for the landscape management (Rosot et al., 2018). Another question is about the adequacy of forest fire legislation produced to the verified conditions in each region/country and the timing of its production and publication. In fact, sometimes it seems that forest fire legislation is approved and published after great catastrophes have occurred, as a reaction of the governments, namely from the perspective of social appeasement. A preferable approach would be a proactive action through a framework that allows avoidance of the consequences yearly visible in many countries as, for example, Portugal. The proactivity is crucial for the forest fire legislation, as in all ⁎

Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (P.R. Mourao), [email protected] (V.D. Martinho).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2019.04.080 Received 1 October 2018; Received in revised form 27 April 2019; Accepted 28 April 2019 Available online 04 May 2019 1470-160X/ © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Central Europe (Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Lichtenstein, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland) Portugal

Vítková et al. (2017)

Northwest Iberia

Pontevedra (Spain)

Cerrado (Brazil)

Brazil

Spain

Santos et al. (2016)

Robles et al. (2016)

Durigan and Ratter (2016)

Althoff et al. (2016)

Perez (2015)

Ghana

Peru

Western Australia

Portugal and Spain

Russia

South Africa

Brazilian Amazon

North America

Canada

Australia

European Union

Italy

Ramcilovic-Suominen and Epstein (2015) Morán et al. (2015)

Chávez and Cossío (2014)

Fisher et al. (2014)

Carreiras et al. (2014)

Isaev and Korovin (2013)

Bennett and Kruger (2013)

Carmenta et al. (2013)

Anand et al. (2013)

Etheridge and Kayahara (2013) Bradshaw et al. (2013)

Montiel-Molina (2013)

Ascoli and Bovio (2013)

Badia and Valldeperas (2015)

Portugal

Mourao and Martinho (2016)

Fernandes et al. (2017)

Countries of analysis

Author

138 Literature review about the prescribed fire

Analyse the practice implementation of the forest policies Review of the forest legislation and policies intricacies Analyse scenarios of forest management, using a wood supply model Options of land management for the carbon sequestration Analyse the forest fire legislation

Investigate the new perspectives for the Russian forest Examine the debate about the exotic plantations

Investigate the use of biomass in small scale boilers Examine the consequences of changes in the forest management, namely concession to private forest firms Assess relationships between environment, fire, flora and fauna Compare forest fire strategies and policies

Analyse the compliance of the legislation

Simulate the climate changes on firewood and soil conservation Analyse the modifications in the legislation related with forest fires Understand the conditions of the populations in the wildland urban interfaces

Analysis about the prescribed fire

Forest legislation is interrelated with the forest management Legislation is interrelated with the forest management The forest fire legislation is reactive to large fires in place to be proactive Lack of adjusted legislation at national level and great heterogeneity at regional level

Sometimes the forest legislation has its own history Often the practices do not compliance the legislation Sometimes de legislation is lagged

The actual legislation and policies are yet in an evolutionary framework. The forest fires become a problem when occurred Ineffective forest fire legislation

The legislation influence the forest dynamics

The legislation must promote the sustainability on native tropical dry forests Changes in the legislation appeared as consequence of large fires Understand the impact of the legislation in the vulnerability of the populations in the wildland urban interfaces The legal reforms must take into account the social framework of local populations Lack of information and legislation about the biomass use The implementation of forest legislation depends on several factor

Sometimes the legislation, namely that related with distance among the forest areas and the buildings, is not complied Sometimes the legislation available is not implemented

The expansion of fast growing trees must be limited by the legislation, preventing big fires

The legislation influence the landscape distribution of the Robinia pseudoacacia, where the fire has its impacts The legislation is a response to large fires, but also with proactive instruments The legislation is a response to the consequences of great forest fires

Analyse the literature about the Robinia pseudoacacia Point of view about Mourao and Martinho (2016) Analyse the Portuguese legislation about forest fire among 1980 and 2013, considering time series econometric methodologies Evaluate the implications on the land use and on the biodiversity from the socioeconomic changes, namely in the rural zones Analyse woodlands and identify fire risks for the nearby buildings, considering spatial models

Legislation relationships

Objectives/Methodologies

Table 1 Summary about the literature related with the forest fire legislation topic.

Article

Article

Need of more proactive legislation

Need more proactive instruments to implement the available legislation Need more proactive instruments to implement the available legislation Need of more proactive legislation

Need of more proactive and adjusted legislation

In some cases the legislation is outdated Reactive legislation

Article

Article

Article

Article

Article

Article

Article

Article

Article

Article

Article

Article

Article

Article

Article

Article

(continued on next page)

Need of more adjusted instruments to implement the legislation The forest legislation is an important instrument

Need of more stable legislation

Need of more proactive legislation

Need a more accompaniment in the legislation implementation

Need of more adjusted legislation

Reactive legislation

Article

Reactive legislation

Article

Comment

Article

Article/Conference/ Comment

Reactive and proactive legislation

Reactive or proactive legislation or both?

P.R. Mourao and V.D. Martinho

Ecological Indicators 104 (2019) 137–144

139 Examine the environmental impact of human decisions and their impacts on the forests Examine the Amazon forest transformations

Brazil

Brazil

Indonesia

Estonia United States of America

Finland

Thailand

United States of America

Brazil

Fearnside (2007)

Nepstad et al. (2006)

Tacconi and Ruchiat (2006) Leimgruber et al. (2005)

Partel et al. (2005) Stephens and Ruth (2005)

Varmola et al. (2004)

Hoare (2004)

McCarter and Smith (2004)

Barlow and Peres (2004)

Analyse about the smoke and forest fires problems Explore the pressures developed by interest groups in the approved legislation Review about the tropical forest fires

Group species with similar needs of conservation Present new proposals for the forest fire legislation Review about the forest management

Analyse the fire management Review about Landsat applications

Synthesis about forest policy and management

Synthesis several papers presented in a workshop related with forest fires Synthesis about forest interactions

Highlight the partnerships for the forest research

Identify potential vulnerable zones in the interface with the urban areas Highlight risk plans

Assessment of the butterfly evolution

Review about the greenhouse gas emissions legislation, namely those related with the peatlands Analyse the distribution and sustainability of the wildlife populations Analyse of regional dynamics where the forest fires has its influence Relationships between the hunting and the forest areas evolution Analyse changes in the forest legislation

Examine the legislation compliance, through interviews to the farmers Review of fire management practices and strategies

Analyse forest restoration programs

Compare air quality evolution

Objectives/Methodologies

Vosick et al. (2007)

United States of America

Spain

Badia et al. (2010)

Murphy et al. (2007)

Australia

Braby (2010)

America West

Brazil

Ribeiro and Freitas (2010)

Egan (2007)

Tropical countries

Wilkie et al. (2011)

United States of America

Croatia

Mamut (2011)

Negrón et al. (2008)

United States of America

Suring et al. (2011)

Netherlands

United Kingdom

Dunn and Freeman (2011)

van't Sant et al. (2009)

South Africa

Ramcilovic-Suominen and Hansen (2012) van Wilgen et al. (2012)

Ghana

United States of America

Kleeman et al. (2013)

Schultz et al. (2012)

Countries of analysis

Author

Table 1 (continued)

Article

Need of more adjusted instruments

Need of impartial legislation

The forest fire legislation and the interest groups The legislation may support a more efficient forest fire management

Need of more adjusted instruments

Article

Conference

Article

Article

Article Article

Article Article

Article

Article

(continued on next page)

Need of more adjusted instruments

Need of better legislation Need of better legislation

Need of more adjusted instruments

Need of more adjusted instruments

Need of more adjusted instruments

Article

Article

Need of more adjusted instruments Need of more adjusted instruments

Guest Editorial

Article

Conference

Article

Need of more adjusted instruments

Need of more adjusted instruments

Need of more proactive legislation

Article

Article

Need of more adjusted instruments

Need of more adjusted instruments

Article

Article

Need of more adjusted instruments

Need of more proactive legislation

Article

Article

Need of more adjusted instruments

Need of more adjusted instruments

Article

Article

Article

Article/Conference/ Comment

Need of more adjusted legislation

Need of more proactive and adjusted legislation

Reactive or proactive legislation or both?

The legislation compliance sometimes depend on adjusted approaches from the public institutions The forest fire legislation is inappropriate The legislation has influence in the land management The legislation is important for the biodiversity The available research is an important base for the design of adjusted policies The legislation is one of the important factors for the forest sustainability The forest fires legislation promote antagonisms

The legislation is a crucial instrument to prevent risk situations The research as an important base for the legislation design The legislation has its impact on the relationships among the forest and the related ecosystems The legislation and its influence in the forest ecology and function The legislation may be an interesting base for the forest management The legislation sometimes it is not fulfilled

Relationships among the forest legislation changes, the biodiversity and the agricultural productions The legislation should be protective to disturbances, where the fire has its importance The forest fire legislation need to be more effective

Legislation and forest management

Relationships among the legislation and the climate change Legislation is interrelated with the forest management The legal reforms must take into account the social framework of local populations Sometimes there are conflicts among the instruments of the legal framework and these rules are not always well understood The legislation has an important role in the relationships among several factors (as the fires) and the greenhouse gas emissions The forest management legislation has influence in other fields Forest fires and legislation

Legislation relationships

P.R. Mourao and V.D. Martinho

Ecological Indicators 104 (2019) 137–144

Ecological Indicators 104 (2019) 137–144

Conference

Meeting

Science platform (main database), about forest fires legislation. This is a significant issue with strong impacts on the forest and socioeconomic dynamics (Mourão and Martinho, 2014). It is important to clarify the discussion about these fields and inform public institutions about the need for more proactive forest fire legislation rather than reactive (Shaba, 1999). In fact, the recurring consequences of the forest fires around the world shows that there is, as yet, much work to do in this direction. Changing the paradigm, namely in terms of prevention, will allow several savings of lives among the population (Viegas, 2017).

Needs of more proactive forest fire legislation Need of more adjusted instruments

Conference

Conference

Portugal

Indonesia

Portugal

Portugal

Caetano et al. (2001)

Juspan (2000)

Paul et al. (2000)

Santos et al. (1999)

2. Material and methods This analysis considered, as base, about sixty documents (articles, comments and presentations in conferences) available in the Web of Science (http://apps.webofknowledge.com), over the period 1997 to 2017, for the following topic: forest fire legislation. All articles, comments and presentations in conferences found in the Web of Science for this topic, and over the period 1997–2017, were considered. These documents were previously explored and systematized in the Table 1. From this previous analysis it was possible to find the main subtopics highlighted by these studies. These subtopics were presented and explored deeper in the subsections of the section 3. In fact, considering that the main objective of this study is to contribute to the debate about this topic, namely in terms of whether forest fire legislation is reactive or proactive, it is determinant to analyze these documents here presented. It is possible to consider other online platforms, such as Scopus (https://www.scopus.com) or RePEc (http://repec.org) and other topics besides rural fires legislation. However, the number of works available in the Web Science for the topic proposed seemed to us sufficient to contribute to a discussion about the legislation associated with the fires that every year devastate forests around the world. However, it will be important, considering the study here presented as base, to explore other topics and compare the results obtained by the different online platforms (Web of Science, Scopus and RePEc). In any case, some of the scientific documents consulted are also available in the Scopus and RePEc platforms and the analysis based on the works found in the Web Science was complemented with other works, namely those published by or related to international organizations such as the United Nations. The approach taken into account to develop this literature survey, about this topic, could proceed in several different ways, as shown for example by Anand et al. (2013) or Moskwa et al. (2016). However, the most important for us, taking into account the previous analysis of the documents, it was to clarify the discussion about the questions related with the reactivity or proactivity of the forest fire legislation, the relationships between the several legal instruments and the relations with the greenhouse gas emissions. We consider that a serious discussion about these questions may bring interesting insights that can be considered by the several stakeholders in the design of future policies and legislative instruments.

Analyse forest carbon sequestration

The legislation has being to become more proactive The legislation should improve the carbon sequestration

Methodologies to control the forest legislation compliance Methodologies to control the forest legislation compliance Analyse forest fires around the world

Forest legislation compliance

Need of more adjusted instruments The forest legislation may considered for a more effective fires control Forest legislation compliance

United States of America Morgan et al. (2002)

Present methodologies to control the forest legislation compliance Examine causes and impacts of forest fires

United States of America Huff et al. (2002)

3. Literature review’s results

Russia

Forests have important social, economic and environmental contributions for the sustainability of regions and countries, but are frequently subject to several pressures, some from natural occurrences (fires, diseases, pest) and others from the human activity (anthropogenic fires, construction). The related forest legislation may have a proactive role preventing negative impacts for the woodlands or a reactive one responding to catastrophic occurrences (Mourao and Martinho, 2016). About the debate related to forest fire legislation, there are many documents in the literature as those summarized in Table 1 and developed in the following subsections. These subsections were defined, considering the several subtopics highlighted in the consulted literature. The subtopics explored in the next subsections are the following:

Kokorin (1997)

Shaba (1999)

Explore GIS frameworks to assess landscape changes Examine old-growth pine stands

The legislation, the biodiversity and the forest multifunctionality The legislation has being to become more proactive The legislation is an important support for the forest and land management The legislation is an important support for the forest and land management Forest legislation compliance Analyse the forest management Finland Mielikainen and Hynynen (2003) Ganz and Moore (2002)

Analyse forest fires around the world

Conference

Conference

Article

Article

Needs of more proactive forest fire legislation

Conference

Article

Legislation relationships Objectives/Methodologies Countries of analysis Author

Table 1 (continued)

Reactive or proactive legislation or both?

Article/Conference/ Comment

P.R. Mourao and V.D. Martinho

140

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relatively to the forest fires. For these authors it seems that the governments are more concerned with the forest burnt. Fernandes et al. (2017) refute this perspective presented by Mourao and Martinho (2016) and the dichotomy between reactive and proactive, defending that the legislation created after large fires is a response to the new contexts with proactive rules. Other authors not using directly the expressions reactive or proactive, highlight the existence or importance of proactive legislation (legal frameworks before occurring catastrophes). In this perspective, Althoff et al. (2016) suggest more proactive legislation to implement a more adjusted framework to manage the firewood removal from the Brazilian tropical dry forest avoiding consequences in soil conservation, water, carbon capture, biodiversity and sustainability. In other cases, the use of agricultural and forest biomass may contribute to woodland sustainability, though the current legislation can be a limitation (Morán et al., 2015). Other authors, e.g. Mamut (2011) suggest more adjusted measures in both the short- and long-term to prevent the consequences of the forest fires in the Croatian region of Dalmatia. 3.2. Forest and land management legislation and forest fires Forest fire legislation is not only related to the frequency, incidence and severity of the fires, but also other legislation has relevant impacts as that associated with forest management (Etheridge and Kayahara, 2013). In fact, forest management is a balance between several dynamics and interrelationships, namely among the human interests and the existent flora and fauna, where the small species, for example, are of importance (Negrón et al., 2008; Wilkie et al., 2011; Schultz et al., 2012; Fisher et al., 2014). The forest and land management choices impact on the ecology, on the available natural resources, on the wildlife species (Partel et al., 2005; Murphy et al., 2007; Braby, 2010; Ribeiro and Freitas, 2010; Suring et al., 2011; Bennett and Kruger, 2013) and consequently on the severity of the forest fires. Well designed policies and legal frameworks may be interesting supports for adjusted forest management and planning (Juspan, 2000; Morgan et al., 2002; Huff et al., 2002; Barlow and Peres, 2004; Varmola et al., 2004; Vosick et al., 2007). The new technologies bring new instruments as supports for the forest management and for efficient organization of forestry activities (Leimgruber et al., 2005). The available research is another important base for the design of adjusted forest fire legislation and planning (Stephens and Ruth, 2005). For the forest management it is crucial to design legislation that promotes biodiversity maintenance and forest multifunctionality (Mielikainen and Hynynen, 2003). The landscape management of the Robinia pseudoacacia in Central Europe (Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Lichtenstein, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland) is an example of a context dependent on the legislation available, where the fire has its relevance (Vítková et al., 2017). Another example is the management of the forest in zones, as in northwest Iberia, through legislation that limits the expansion of fast growing trees that may maintain biodiversity and prevent the occurrences of large forest fires (Santos et al., 2016).

Fig. 1. Similitude analysis (Titles and Abstracts from Table 1).

Reactive or proactive forest fire legislation? Forest and land management legislation and forest fires; Forest legislation compliance; Instability of forest legislation and conflicts between the legal instruments; Greenhouse gas emissions and forest fire legislation. Summarily, this table shows what was published in publications consulted, where the majority are articles, one a comment and some presentations in conferences. The international literature seems to agree about more proactive and adjusted forest fire legislative instruments. In other words, legislative instruments are needed to avoid the serious damages cause every year by the forest fires, after several and, in our opinion, reactive legal instruments approved by the governments and public institutions. We have also produced a similitude graph (Fig. 1), revealing the ties between the central words identified in Table 1′s works according to VOSviewer (2019). As expected the expression ‘forest fire’ has an own system, with other relevant words like ‘paper’, ‘damage’ or ‘problem’. But other systems have been identified. They are centred around terms like ‘conservation’-‘biodiversity’ or ‘challenge’-‘scenario’.

3.1. Reactive or proactive forest fire legislation? Specifically, about the discussion of the forest fire legislation being dichotomously reactive or proactive, Mourao and Martinho (2016) considering time series econometric methodologies (between 1980 and 2013) found evidence that forest fire legislation in Portugal is reactive, namely because after large fires several changes in the legislation have been made. Some years before, Montiel-Molina (2013) presented the example of the forest fires of 2003 in Portugal as a process where the changes in the legislation were “ad hoc” reactions to problems that had already occurred. Perez (2015) also focused on the reaction of the Spanish institution with changes in the legislation as a consequence of large fires, focusing on protection and environmental sustainability. The need for “more proactive” strategies for combating fire was also stressed by Ganz and Moore (2002) in the proceedings of a conference published by the United Nations, when highlighting the dubious efficacy of traditional fire suppression measures. The dichotomy among the terms reactive and proactive was also considered for forest policies, for example, by Shaba (1999). In fact, these authors considered that sometimes public institutions have more reactive than proactive actions

3.3. Forest legislation compliance The compliance of the legislation available is another question, as verified for a forest zone in Pontevedra (Spain), where the majority of the buildings do not meet the minimum distance from the forested areas as defined by the legislation (Robles et al., 2016). The interrelationships between the population and the forested areas in the wildland urban interfaces, considering the available legislation, were also analysed by Badia and Valldeperas (2015). Sometimes, it is difficult for the governments to enforce the available legislation because of several factors, including the characteristics of the individual countries (Fearnside, 2007). However, with adjusted approaches from the public institutions 141

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fundamental role in carbon sequestration and environmental preservation (Kokorin, 1997). The interrelationships between forest fires and greenhouse gas emissions are issues that are explored more deeply in the literature, where it seems that impact assessment of the fires on the environment is significantly underestimated, namely in years of great severities and incidences.

it could be possible to sensitize the populations and the economic operators to the need to comply with the applicable legislation (Nepstad et al., 2006). In a similar perspective, in Cerrado (Brazil) the legislation associated with the prescribed fire does not fulfil the consequences of the forest management associated with the biodiversity and natural occurrences prevention (Durigan and Ratter, 2016). Sometimes, this compliance depends on more adjusted forest legislation that takes into account the social norms of the local population, as verified by Ramcilovic-Suominen and Hansen (2012) and Ramcilovic-Suominen and Epstein (2015) for Ghana or on more awareness campaigns (Carmenta et al., 2013). The importance of taking into account the opinion and the perceptions of local people in the legislation design was also highlighted by Badia et al. (2010). For the success of any new policy or legal instrument it is fundamental to consider the experience and the accumulated knowledge by the resident population (Tacconi and Ruchiat, 2006; Egan, 2007). It is, in fact, important that the official institutions understand that an efficient implementation of the legislation depends on several factors and that this implementation needs to be an accompaniment for pertinent adjustments (Chávez and Cossío, 2014) and should be updated (Anand et al., 2013; Bradshaw et al., 2013). In any case, the legislation compliance can be monitored by new technologies that allow the creation of new methodologies and instruments (Santos et al., 1999; Paul et al., 2000; Caetano et al., 2001).

4. Policy suggestions Taking into account the literature review presented above and the main questions which have been highlighted, in a perspective of minimizing the several consequences verified every year around the world with forest fires, with regard to forest fires legislation it seems to us important that, namely, public organizations take into account the following aspects: - Avoid producing forest legislation under pressure as a reaction to large forest fires. Generally, these legislative reactions only pacify public opinion and have limited effect on the prevention of future catastrophes (Isaev and Korovin, 2013). Therefore, it is more effective to generate a legislation agenda and to manage its discussion along the legislative tenure. - Produce more adjusted legal instruments and seek to be more proactive, focusing less on the burnt area and more on the active trees’ resources and for the forestry sector and dependent communities (Ganz and Moore, 2002). - Discuss more with the populations and with the several stakeholders, understanding their concerns, opinions and daily routines. This will improve the adequacy of the designed policies designed and the compliance of the approved legislation approved (Perez, 2015). - Take into consideration the several stakeholders’ perspective, understanding that the mitigation of the consequences of forest fires requires multidisciplinary contributions. It is important to create work groups with different perspectives to discuss seriously and independently the forest fires (Mourao and Martinho, 2016). - Create specialized commissions to analyze the already available legislation, with the main objective of trying to identify conflicts among legal instruments, minimizing the number of ineffective/ obsolete legislative documents (Kokorin, 1997).

3.4. Instability of forest legislation and conflicts between the legal instruments The conflicts among the several instruments defined in the legal framework are other questions, which limit the efficient application of the legislation to reduce the risk of forest fires, as those found among the forest intervention zones and the improvements in combatting fires (Carreiras et al., 2014). In other cases, it is difficult to implement the available forest fire legislation, because it promotes divergences between institutions and local people (Hoare, 2004). In any case, the legislation is an important instrument to prevent risk situations and to implement adjusted plans (van't Sant et al., 2009). The existence of great heterogeneity (sometimes overlapping) in the legislation is another important question that can create confusion and difficulties in the effective implementation of policies (Ascoli and Bovio, 2013). The conflicts between the several instruments of the legal framework and the complexity of these rules, sometimes is an obstacle to the correct application of the available forest fire legislation, namely that related, for example, with the prescribed fire (van Wilgen et al., 2012). The instability of the forest legislation (Isaev and Korovin, 2013) may create more difficulties for the several agents that operate with forest management and with forest fire prevention, namely in terms of adaptation, local population involvement and creation of expertise. Another question is about the pressures exercised by interest groups to condition the kind of forest fires legislation approved (McCarter and Smith, 2004) as on many occasions the legal framework is inappropriate and more expensive, with impacts on the public budget and for the local population.

5. Discussion and final remarks The literature reviews about the forest fire legislation around the world shows that the great majority of the related documents were published through scientific research and very few through opinion papers or comments. In fact, forest legislation is an extensive topic as it presents the available literature that reflects the dimension and the complexity of these issues objectively and directly. In fact, the research works published address the following subtopics: reactive or proactive forest fire legislation; forest and land management legislation and forest fires; forest legislation compliance; instability of the forest legislation and conflicts between the legal instruments; and greenhouse gas emissions and forest fire legislation. Another question highlighted here is that forest fire prevention does not depend only on directly related legislation, but also from other legislative documents that can be complementary or conflicting. With regard to the dichotomy between proactive and reactive forest fire legal frameworks, the international literature agrees that in general more proactive legislative instruments (at least more adjusted, considering, for example, improvements in legislation and institutions in both the short- and long-term (Mamut, 2011), the relevance of peatlands for carbon sequestration (Dunn and Freeman, 2011) and the certification for the fire utilization (Ascoli and Bovio, 2013)) are needed to prevent the yearly destruction from fires. In practice, governments

3.5. Greenhouse gas emissions ad forest fire legislation Another question is the relationship between several factors and greenhouse gas emissions (Dunn and Freeman, 2011). Forest fires have a significant impact on the greenhouse gas emissions and sometimes these implications are not well considered in the legislative instruments. Climate change may also impact the incidence and severity of forest fires (Kleeman et al, 2013). It is important that the legislation promotes a sustainable relationship between the forest and the environment, where the forestry has a 142

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must think more about the forest and less about the burnt area. Authors as Montiel-Molina (2013) and Perez (2015) defend, as do Mourao and Martinho (2016), that forest fire legislation is markedly reactive to large fires in the European Union countries to large fires. As stressed before, the directly related legislation does not only have an impact on forest fires. The legislative documents may be considered as support, and fundamental instruments for forest management and planning and so have relevant impacts on forest dynamics and on the frequency and severity of fires. In this perspective and for a more effective implementation, the legislation related to forests must be more interrelated (avoiding, for example, conflicts between instruments (Carreiras et al., 2014) and great heterogeneity (Ascoli and Bovio, 2013)) to be complementary in sustainable management plans. A more effective implementation of and more compliance with forest legislation is another aspect that must to be taken into account in these discussions. In fact, public opinion often tends to the view that there is already much legislation, but that it is inadequately implemented. In this case, to produce a more operational application of the available legislation, it is important to consider the local cultural and social dynamics and listen to the popular wisdom from the local population that has lived in the area for many years. The conflicts and the instability of the legal instruments are other problems that make it difficult to obtain the results expected from legislative documents. Indeed, the frequent reactive production of legislation after large fires sometimes only brings more instability and confusion for the several stakeholders associated with the forest fires. This is another question about the problematic trend of the forest fire legislation to be more reactive than proactive. In the pressure to reactively produce legislation after great destruction to appease public opinion, the probability of approving conflicting legal instruments may increase significantly. In a framework of the need for more proactivity in the forest fire legislation, in future researches about these topics will be important to analyse the relationships between the short-term reactions and the long-term proactive measures. This analysis may bring more lights about the more effective instruments of forest fire policy and legislation created in contexts of pressure after great fires, in terms of long-term proactivity. Another relevant question should be to analyse the importance of the interest groups affected by the fires or even potentially benefited from them. We also consider as a relevant challenge to actually analyze the primary policy documents of each country considering an alternative robust set of criteria. Finally, extending the searchable words in our database, like including ‘burnt’ or ‘law’ will expand the queries associated to this work.

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