Wildfire in Ukraine: an overview of fires and fire management system

• Published in: Ukrainian journal of forest and wood science 2020-06, Vol.11 (2), p.15-31
• Main Authors: Zibtsev, S. V., Soshenskyi, O. M., Myroniuk, V. V., Gumeniuk, V. V.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural land; Climate change; Climatic conditions; Fire hazards; Fire protection; Forest & brush fires; Forest fires; Forest management; Land use; Landscape; MODIS; Residential areas; Residential buildings; Statistical analysis; Wildfires
• ISSN: 2664-4452; 2664-4460
• DOI: 10.31548/forest2020.02.015

In the last decade, the problem of fires in the natural landscapes of Ukraine has aggravated due to climate change, changes in society and land use. Catastrophic wildfires in 2014, 2015 and 2020 indicate that Ukraine is now in the new climate conditions in terms of the level of fire danger. It is clear that in such conditions departmental forest and landscapes fire protection system is incapable of control over the situation. Such situation requires an analysis of the effectiveness of the existing forest and landscapes fire protection system and its improvement in accordance with new risks and challenges. Based on the methods of RS with the help of modern software products, it was established that in Ukraine over the past 19 years wildfires have damaged 38.4 million hectares of natural areas, an average of 2.0 million hectares annually. The most severe problem of wildfires is observed in the southern and eastern parts of Ukraine, where forest cover is low, part of agricultural lands is large (over 70%), which indicates, first of all, a problem of agricultural fires. In comparison to fires (burnings) on agricultural lands, the problem of forest fires does not seem very significant. Yet, taking into the account especially large forest fires in Ukraine during 2007 – 2020 that have led to human deaths, destruction of residential buildings, manufacture and social infrastructure, which has resulted in enormous ecological and economical losses, it is clear that forest fire protection system requires deep analysis and appropriate decisions for its improvement. The article is devoted to the study of fires in the natural landscapes of Ukraine, analysis of the current forest and landscapes fire protection system and ways to improve it. The first step towards establishing a modern fire management system in Ukraine should aim at establishing a reliable national fire statistics system, which would highlight the real problem and include all type of landscape fires - in open lands and in forests. The scientific article represents analyzes the landscape fires for the period 2001-2019 according to the global products of the MODIS system. Also in the article, performed the analysis of the components of the current fire management system and the main shortcomings and key recommendations for its improvement are formulated.