Project no. Fp6-018505 Project Acronym fire paradox

4.2Morocco Case Study

As regards to the forest fires detection, Morocco uses the conventional terrestrial methods. However, the commercial airlines when flying through Morocco provide detection assistance when in the presence of a fire. There is no legal framework for the detection and surveillance systems of forest wildfires. However, the HCEFLCD ‘‘Haut Commissariat aux Eaux et Forêts et à la Lutte Contre la Desertification’’ has an alert network composed by the following human resources:

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  The forest staff affected to various terrestrial forest structures and the permanent services at central and external level;
  
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  The lookout posts staff;
  
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  The mobile brigades’ staff composed by the permanent guards of the reforestation perimeters and occasional staff hired during summer, specifically for wildfires detection.
  

These personnel use to communicate the specific emergency numbers, provided by the forest services. For the general public, three emergency numbers can be used: “15” for the Civil Protection, “177” for the Royal Gendarmerie and “08000 0880” for the Forest Head Office.

With regards to the temporal wildfire occurrence, two periods can be distinguished in time:

From November 1^st to June 30^th;

‘’Fire period’’, from July 1 to October 31, which coincide with the dry season (summer and autumn) when the fire hazard increases.

4.2.1The detection systems

Lookout towers

The Moroccan forest service made in 1914 his first establishment in the forests of Mamora, Benslimane, Zaers and Shouls. These forests, mainly based on cork oak, are located in the Rabat region. The constructions made on these forests were in parallel with the cork harvesting and regeneration activities. Since 1917, all the Mamora (135.000 ha) have forest houses. The first fuel break, also used as penetration roads, was established on January 1st, 1922. The Mamora forest counted at that time 440 km of fuel breaks of 30 m width and also lookout towers (Boudy, 1948). These last ones were built on metallic pylons of 20 m height or on hard building sufficiently high to dominate the forest stands, allowing a broad vision field. These lookout towers were occupied by a well-trained observer, connected by telephone to the forest post and with a simplified angle orientation table with an alidade. In fact, during all this period, no forest fires occurred.

Currently, Morocco counts with 130 lookout towers. In 2001 there were 119 towers functioning (PDCI, 2001). The management of these latter ones encountered many constraints:

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  Establishment: The lookout towers are located on the top of the mountains. However, due to the absence of preliminary studies before their establishment, many of the lookout towers do not have a good visibility to the forest stands.
  
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  Maintenance: Several lookout towers did not have any maintenance since their construction. In the year 2000, the Forestry Department started a rehabilitation program replacing the metallic pylons by permanent building structures and improving the conditions of the other lookout posts.
  
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  Human resources: During the period from July 1st to October 31^st, the observers were trained by the forest service and paid under state control. The suppression of this payment system involved hiring difficulties. Currently, the workmen hiring is done via a society service. Furthermore, the observers did not undergo a specific training related to their function of surveillance.
  
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  Lookout towers equipment: The lookout towers are not equipped for surveillance and localization of possible initial fires (lack of maps, binoculars, alidade and comfort). The observer has to use his ground knowledge that is not always sufficient to locate precisely the initial fires. Currently, they have GSM portables to communicate with the nearest Forest Development Centre.
  
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  Living conditions: The living conditions for the observers are null, there is neither electricity nor water.
  

The study undertaken within the framework of the Directing Diagram development for Forest Prevention and Defence against Fires in the Rif region (EGMASA,2000) , showed that this area which counts 363.305 ha only have 21 lookout towers of which 13 have good visibility, 5 partial visibility and 3 bad visibility. The present study proposed new locations for these last ones.

Mobile brigades

The mobile brigades are composed of permanent or seasonal workers who patrol on foot the forest during the fire period to insure prevention and to give alert in case of any initial fire.

The forest service

The forest patrols relevant to HCEFLCD include permanent and seasonal staff.

i.1) The permanent staff

It is composed of the reforestation perimeters guards. These softwood and hardwood plantations, based on pine, eucalyptus and acacia, are watched by permanent guards in order to prevent illegal wood cutting, grazing, fire use in the forest and to give alert in case of an initial fire. These personnel have no particular equipments. In case of a forest fire, the guard tries to intervene with the help of the local population. Also he has to communicate to the forest agent who, at his turn, alerts the District and the Forest Development Centre.

i.2) The seasonal guards

These guards are hired during the forest fire period and designated to forests of high fire hazard. The forest surveillance is shared out among them; each one is responsible for a sector. These personnel were paid on state control. The progressive suppression of this payment system, because of the structural adjustment program and the decrease in credits, pushed the forest department to look for other payment forms for these personnel:

Recruitment by the rural communes: Pursuant to article 14 of the Dahir bearing law N° 1.76.370 of September 20, 1976 relating to the participation and organization of the population in the development of the forestry economics, the resources coming from the forest domain included within territorial commune limits are versed in the budget of this commune. The article 15 of the same Dahir stipulates that this commune is obliged to consecrate, within limits fixed by the Governor and which could not be lower than 20% of the received resources amount, to expenditures related to silvopastoral projects, green spaces creation or natural site protection. At the request of the Forest Service, certain communes recruit personnel, equipped them with portable telephones for the monitoring, and alarm purposes.

Supervision contracting with enterprises: Certain forest services establish a surveillance contract with enterprises that supply personnel for the lookout towers and the mobile brigades; and possibly for the fighting against fires.

Recruitment of the personnel by the National Promotion Program: For the year 2007, certain provinces recruited personnel within the National Promotion framework, which depends on the Interior Ministry. This personnel is put under forest service disposal for surveillance of the forest of high risk and alert purposes. In Chefchaouen Province, 80 persons will be recruited (Forest Service, personnel communication).

Recruitment of the personnel by the Civil Protection: For the year 2007, the Civil Protection will hire, on its own credits basis, personnel who will be put under the forest service control. These personnel will be equipped of portable telephones for alert purpose. In Chefchaouen Province, 20 persons will be recruited (Forest Service, personnel communication).

EUCAFOREST Society

This society manages 23.000 ha of eucalyptus plantations that the HCEFLCD conceded to them in order to assure the pulpwood supplying of the Moroccan pulp mill (Cellulose du Maroc). This society made a contract with an enterprise for its security services. This last one put under the EUCAFOREST control, guards for the perimeters surveillance and alert in case of initial fire. This personnel has portable telephones.

Other forest property owners

Other forest property owners (local communities for the green belt of Rabat; Army Forces for the eucalyptus reforestation situated on the military terrains) have also their own detection means (lookout towers and mobile brigades).

Forest users

Forest users like walkers, forest work enterprises, forest harvesters, and drivers, public transport motorists among others, alert the authorities in case of fires and particularly those caused by the cigarettes along the roads.

Local authorities

The local authorities (Governor representative at the level of one or many communes) use their personnel (Cheikhs, Moqadem, auxiliary forces …) to give alert in case of initial fire. Any fire must be signalled to the prefecture that alerts the Civil Protection and forest services.

Royal Gendarmerie

The Royal Gendarmerie, well established in the rural area has, among its missions, the detection and alert in case of forest fires. In case of fire, the patrols alert the local responsible forester and their company commander who, in his turn, communicate to the prefecture, the Civil Protection and the Forest Service.

Voluntary firemen

Within the framework of the Oued Laou watershed development project (Chefchaouen region), an experience aiming to create a corps of the voluntary firefighters foresters is in process. 35 voluntaries divided into 7 detection, alert and intervention groups, were formed among the voluntary users of forest. A 2 days training on prevention, detection, alert and first intervention was provided to them in July 2007.

The aerial detection

Morocco does not have an organized aerial surveillance system for forest fires detection. However, since the forest of high risk is located near the aerial navigation corridor to Europe (Rif forests) and to the Middle East (Rif Forest, the oriental and Middle Atlas), the Civil Aviation Direction sensitizes the aerial companies to collaborate in the forest fires detection and alert.

4.2.2Procedures

To manage the surveillance, detection and fire-fighting device, the civil year is divided in two periods:

Fire period, which goes from July 1 to October 31. This period coincides with the dry season (summer and autumn) when the fire risk is greater.

Small risk period is going from November 1 to June 30.

During the “fire period” the detection and alert system (Ministère de l’Intérieur, 2007) presented on Figure 11 is active.

(HCEFLCD: Haut Commissariat aux Eaux et Forêts et à la Lutte contre la Désertification ; PC: Civil Protection ; GR:Gendarmerie Royale)

Figure 11 - Detection and system alert in Morocco during the “Fire Period”