Written by Sarah Meier Introduction The Mediterranean area is the most fire-prone region within Europe with high wildfire incidence (San-Miguel-Ayanz et al., 2020). Not only do the Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, and France together account for about 85% of the total burned area in Europe, the Mediterranean area is also particularly vulnerable in that it is densely populated, characterised by a large wildland urban interface, and due to the species richness and a high proportion of endemism, it represents a biodiversity hotspot (Batllori et al., 2013; Myers et al., 2000). Notably, fire has played an integral role in shaping landscapes […]
Socioeconomic Factors
By Carmen Rodríguez Traditionally, in the fire field – listening to the term “community vulnerable to fire” makes us think of a wildland-urban interface (WUI) with wooden houses and a lot of highly flammable trees in a fire-prone area. However, the more Social Science we bring on board to the forest fire debate, the more we realize how narrow that vision is. There is a biophysical component to vulnerability, of course, but there are other economic and especially social considerations that are very often not taken into account. The Hyogo Framework for Action defines vulnerability as: “The conditions determined by […]