Portugal: New Project Launched to Improve Fire Protection Systems in Northern Portugal (IFFN No. 6 – January 1992)
New Project Launched to Improve FireProtection Systems
in Northern Portugal
(IFFN No. 6 – January 1992, p. 23)
A new fire research project was initiated near Vila Real to evaluate and improve fire protection systems, with some new integrated methodology to evaluate fire hazard. The project met the approval of the Forest Service and will be conducted by UTAD (Universidade de Tras-os Montes e Alto Douro). It will fall under a EEC development programme, financed by the Commissao de Coordenacao da Regiao Norte (Portugal).
Infrastructure studies of the landscape, population dynamics, land-use and other fire-related issues will be used with a fuel classification system to arrive at a fire hazard evaluation. This information will be used to provide cost-effective fire protection proposals for efficient fire control. BEHAVE will not only be used to create representative fuel models and to test relationship between various fuel classes, but also to assist in the decision-making process in forest fire protection. The study will be GIS-based and some new techniques will be tested with the main objective to arrive at a user-friendly fire protection package from which results can be extrapolated to surrounding districts with some minor adjustments.
From: Herminio Botelho and Cornelius (Neels) de Ronde
Address:
Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro
Apartado 202
P-5001 Vila Real Codex
Saasveld Forestry Research Center
CSIR-Forestek
Private Bag X6515
SA-George 6530
