Recent severe forest fires in Canada (e.g., 2003 in western Canada,
2004 in the Yukon, and 2005 in Quebec and Ontario) have highlighted the
potential threat that unwanted wildfires can pose to public safety, property,
and vital natural resources. At the 2004 Canadian Council of Forest Ministers
(CCFM) meeting, the federal, provincial, and territorial Forest Ministers
identified the need for a new, strategic approach to wildland fire management
in Canada that is based on a risk management framework (i.e., mitigation,
preparedness, response, and recovery). They also created an ADM-level
Task Group (co-led by Natural Resources Canada and British Columbia)
and charged them with the development of the Canadian Wildland Fire Strategy (CWFS).
In October 2005 at the CCFM meeting in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, the
Ministers signed the CWFS Declaration, expressing their unanimous commitment
to a new common vision, shared principles, and a proposed path of action
to enhance wildland fire management. The ADM Task Group has also completed
the CWFS Vision, which reviews the current state of fire management in
Canada, identifies critical issues and trends, and describes the desired
future state that all agencies will strive to achieve over the next decade.
The ADM Task Group is continuing its development of the CWFS by completing
an implementation framework and is providing information to political
officials and other senior decision-makers, who are approaching their
respective colleagues to obtain the significant amounts of funding needed
to implement the CWFS.
For more information:
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