UNFAO - Climate Warming Making Forest Fires Bigger, More Intense - ENN

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ROME -- Climate change is making forest fires around the world bigger and more intense, increasing the threat to people and the environment and costing countries millions in damage and firefighting expenses, the United Nations said Thursday.

With estimates of firefighting costs ranging from $450 million to $900 million per fire season, some countries _ such as Canada _ may no longer be able to afford to fight fires with the vigor that they currently do, cautioned the report from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.

In a global assessment of forest fires, the Rome-based agency found that 865 million acres of vegetation were affected by fires in 2000 alone _ most of it in sub-Saharan Africa.

The report noted that not all forest fires are bad and that in some areas, ecosystems need fire for plant regeneration. Fire is also an important and widely used tool in agriculture. But overall, the report said, forest fires caused immense damage in human, environmental and economic costs _ and are expected to increase in size and intensity alongside global warming.

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