Wildland Fires and the Law:Legal Aspects of Forest Fires Worldwide

As existing research, conferences and publications on wildland fire are orientated towards the technical aspects of prevention and firefighting, the Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales et Communautaires (CERIC) and the Union regionale du sud-est pour la sauvegarde de la vie, de la nature et de l'environnement (URVN) decided to investigate the legal aspects of these matters, an equally important, but much less well-researched field, by organising a world conference in 1991 at Aix-en-Provence, France. This volume is the result of that conference. Experts from 13 countries in Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe particularly affected by wildland fires were brought together to discuss six controversial questions: What should be the law concerning occupation and construction rights in forests? Should swamping out take place and, if so, on what basis and with which objectives? What are the essentials of organised firefighting? Should replanting be carried out? What indemnities should be available to the victims of fire? What should be the penal sanctions?
The Aix-en-Provence Charter adopted at the end of the Conference, and reproduced in this volume, brings together various principles concerning the above points, which could serve as a guide for national wildland fire policies worldwide.