developing the culture of fire risk
Agricultural abandonment is causing maritime forest areas to expand. The forest has multiple functions, including tourism, recreational activities, deforestation, soil protection and ecological balance, and must be preserved. The fragile Mediterranean forest is the main victim of global warming and is subject to a prolonged fire risk. 8 out of 10 fires are due to malicious acts or lack of awareness. This requires prevention. To help the concerned populations prevent and fight fires, they must be informed about the risks, obligations and measures to take in the event of an alarm. The Med PSS project aims to develop the fire risk culture with different objectives. When people are informed and made aware of the fragility of the Mediterranean and about risky behaviours, fires and material and human damage in case of fire decrease. This project expects to obtain the following main results: state of the art identification of people teaching prevention and taking charge during alerts (in case of increased risk and declared fire), pilot projects, development of targeted communication tools, production of a methodological guide for the dissemination of good practices for preventive communication and alerts. The project partners wish to have more effective studies and common tools; they will implement pilot projects in the cross-border area.