An analysis of the fires in forests and pastures in Iran Goals, consequences and ways of prevention

Wildfires in natural resources cause huge human, financial, environmental and ecotourism losses to countries every year. The average of annual fire aria in the world's forests is estimated at four million square kilometers. These wildfires lead to the destruction of vegetation, global warming, air pollution, destruction of environmental diversity, and intensifying the phenomenon of desertification. Various natural and human factors (intentional and non-intentional) are effective in the occurrence and spread of fires in the forests and pastures. Ecoterrorism and environmental terrorism are two common approaches for intentional arson attacks in natural resources. One of the important and relatively new act of environmental terrorism is the phenomenon of pyroterrorism or deliberate destructive fires in forests and pastures. Simplicity, low risk, low financial cost and small number of required actors, weakness of governments in quick containment, high advertising range and inflicting significant damages are among the attractions of such operations for saboteurs. In order to minimize the damage caused by natural and intentional fires, the following defense measures are recommended: equipping the institutions responsible for extinguishing forest and pasture fires with advanced and up-to-date firefighting equipment and facilities, attracting the active participation of local people and training firefighters. Forest dwellers and pastoralists in identifying and extinguishing fires in forests and pastures, improving management practices of forests and pastures, monitoring information about threats and using new technologies in the field of security and fire extinguishing.