ROME, April 21 (UPI) -- Local communities need to take a stronger role in controlling and managing wildfires, the United Nations said in a new management handbook.
Pieter van Lierop, a forestry officer for the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization, said the communities have an intimate interest in their natural resources.
"When local communities benefit from protecting their natural resources they are more likely to be mobilized to prevent fires," he said.
The FAO, in its new handbook on wildfire management, said a balance is needed between spending money on fire-suppression equipment and advocating effective prevention.
The United Nations estimates more than 350 million hectares globally are affected by fire each year. More than 90 percent of such damage is caused by human activity.
Fire management, the handbook says, means teaching local leaders about safe forest management practices to establish the important link between food security and rural livelihood.
"Developing countries should look into such positive practices and put more efforts into community-based fire management education and prevention of fires," added van Lierop.
