These are the findings of a consortium of experts from the Netherlands Institute for Public Safety (NIPV), the Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute (KNMI), Wageningen University & Research, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Deltares. Our findings show how urgently we need to address this issue,” says VU earth scientist Sander Veraverbeke, who contributed to the report Natuurbrandsignaal 2023 as a wildfire expert.
More wildfires, greater intensity
The nature of wildfires in the Netherlands is changing. They are increasing in intensity to the extent that they can no longer be extinguished and only stop when they run out of fuel. People will have to be evacuated more often, the direct and indirect damage will be greater, vital infrastructure will be disrupted and irreparable damage to flora and fauna will be a more frequent occurrence. In addition, these fires will represent a greater threat to human health.
Our weather has become warmer, drier and sunnier in recent decades, and current forecasts suggest that this trend will continue, with the average lowest groundwater level also falling in parts of the Netherlands. This often results in vegetation becoming more flammable and leads to an increase in the number of fire-prone days. Climatic trends may also increase wildfire intensity and make these blazes increasingly difficult to fight using existing methods.
Recommendations
Preventing and fighting wildfires should become a structural part of the fire-fighting system and the risk of wildfires should be taken into account when planning the Dutch landscape. In addition, it’s important to consider the area-based and multi-stakeholder approach recommended in the report. 'A fire in a nature reserve never exists in isolation. It is linked to water management and to agricultural, recreational and other activities in the surrounding landscape,' says VU heritage expert Linde Egberts, another member of the expert team behind this report.
Learning lessons from heritage
In her own research, Egberts also includes how people experience fire. 'In the past, residents of forest and moorland areas were more accustomed to fire and actively used it to manage the landscape. With the rise of large-scale forestry and conservation, people have come to view fire as a greater threat.' There are still lessons embedded in landscape heritage that can be useful in dealing with the changing circumstances we face today, finds Egberts. Some of the measures recommended in the report also hark back to past management practices, such as deploying fire as a managed intervention and the raising of groundwater levels.
