Canadian Council of Forest Ministers Releases Its Canadian Wildland Fire Prevention and Mitigation Strategy

On June 5th, the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers (CCFM) released its Canadian Wildland Fire Prevention and Mitigation Strategy.

CCFM was established in 1985 to provide a platform for federal, provincial, and territorial governments to work together on common concerns relating to the forests. The CCFM provides leadership on national and international issues and sets direction for the stewardship and sustainable management of forests across Canada.

Severe wildland fire events in Canada are increasing in frequency, intensity, and costs, CCFM said. In the coming years, wildland fire risk to people, communities, and infrastructure is anticipated to increase. The challenge presented by this risk impacts everyone, making it a whole of society issue requiring whole of society solutions.

Prevention and mitigation are crucial pillars in wildland fire risk reduction. Prevention decreases the chance a wildfire will occur, while mitigation reduces the impacts of wildland fires that cannot be prevented.

CCFM says the Canadian Wildland Fire Prevention and Mitigation Strategy is a call to action to mobilize all of society in reducing wildland fire risk, focused on inspiring collaboration and action to inform, empowering and equiping citizens, communities, businesses, and the private sector to proactively reduce their risk from wildland fire. It provides a shared vision of wildland fire prevention and mitigation to reduce the negative impacts of wildland fire.

According to CCFM, prevention and mitigation work is already underway across the country. Ministers will develop a collective implementation plan to help coordinate and monitor efforts and assess progress towards the goals and commitments of the group.