Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-09-01-Speech-1-064"

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"en.20030901.5.1-064"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, once again, unfortunately, forest fires have desolated the forests of the Mediterranean, and they have been particularly devastating this summer as a result of the climatic conditions we have suffered. As well as the loss of human lives, which we have to mourn, as well as the Dante-esque images left behind by the fires and the economic losses they have caused, the magnitude of the disaster which year after year hangs over the forests of the south of Europe and the consequences it has for the European Union as a whole demonstrate the need for a Community policy for protecting the forests against fires, with its own funding, which takes account of the specific nature of Mediterranean forests and which provides for prevention measures as an integral element in the management of forests, as this Parliament had requested at the time. We must not forget that the Mediterranean forests and the forests of the north develop in completely different ways, and are therefore governed by completely different laws. As well as soil, the growth-restricting factors are water in the Mediterranean forests and light in the northern areas. In the Mediterranean forests, where there is no shortage of light, the higher trees, shrubs and grasses have to compete for water on the ground and, being a restricting factor, there comes a time when every drop of water which falls must be distributed at ground level. The water table is therefore reduced, the roots do not reach that level and they die, and then the above-ground part becomes denser and finally – unfortunately – fire returns repeatedly and we are sent right back to the beginning. This differing development also requires differing forest management and requires that, in the Mediterranean forests, management and prevention form part of an inseparable whole, which is the only way to prevent these waves of fires every summer, the seriousness of which depends on the weather conditions. The Mediterranean forests are part of the common heritage of all Europeans. It is for this reason that forest fires are not just the responsibility of the Member States or regional governments with competence in this field, although there is no question that the correct application of the principle of subsidiarity is essential in order to increase the effectiveness of the measures to be taken. Community competences in the environmental field as well as the commitment made by the European Union in Kyoto require greater budgetary contributions and greater involvement by the European Union in the fight against fires."@en1
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