GFMC AND WMO
World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has initiated and supported a series of activities,which address problems arising from vegetation fires and smoke impacts on human health and the environment.
WMO Involvement in Southeast Asia
Since the late 1990s, GFMC and WMO cooperated closely in Southeast Asia in addressing the origin and impact of regional smoke pollution on the atmosphere, human health and safety:
- WMO Regional Workshop on Transboundary Smoke and Haze in Southeast Asia. (Singapore, 2-5 June 1998)
- The workshop closely interacted with the WHO Bi-Regional Workshop on Health Impacts of Haze-related Air Pollution (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 1-4 June 1998).
The results of the WMO workshop are published in Global Atmospheric Watch (GAW) Report 131. The GFMC, which was formally opened three months after the workshop, provided the “Overview of Fire and Smoke Episodes in Southeast Asia” with the presentation “Environmental Problems Arising from Land Use, Climate Variability, Fire and Smog in Indonesia: Development of Policies and Strategies for Land Use and Fire Management” (by Johann G. Goldammer, on behalf of the UNECE/FAO Team of Specialists on Forest Fires and the Fire Ecology and Biomass Burning Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry and Freiburg University, Germany:
- WMO Workshop on Regional Transboundary Smoke and Haze in Southeast Asia Report (Volume 1) (GAW Report 131) (PDF, 17.0 MB)
- WMO Workshop on Regional Transboundary Smoke and Haze in Southeast Asia Report (Volume 2) (GAW Report 131) (PDF, 6.5 MB)
Participants of the WMO Workshop in Singapore (2 June 1998)
Photo: WMO
In following-up, the World Health Organization (WHO), in cooperation with WMO and GFMC), developed and published the Health Guidelines for Vegetation Fire Events.
In August 2016 an international workshop and training course „Forecasting Emissions from Vegetation Fires and their Impacts on Human Health and Security in South East Asia“ was organized by WMO, IBBI, UNISDR/IWPM, GWFN/GFMC, UNU, GIZ, IGAC and BMKG.
- Workshop announcement
- Workshop and training course agenda (PDF, 0.2 MB)
- Press releases and media reports (Bahasa Indonesia) (PDF, 0.4 MB)
- Vegetation Fire and Smoke Pollution Warning and Advisory System (VFSP-WAS): Concept Note and Expert Recommendations (WMO GAW Report No. 235) (PDF, 3.3 MB)
- Presentation and publication at the 7th International Wildland fire Conference (I): Baklanov, A., B.N. Chew, A. Frassoni, C. Gan, J.G. Goldammer, M. Keywood, S. Mangeon, P.M. Manseau, and P. Radenko. 2021. The WMO Vegetation Fire and Smoke Pollution Warning Advisory and Assessment System (VFSP-WAS): Concept, Current Capabilities, Research and Development Challenges and the Way Ahead. Biodiversidade Brasileira 11 (2), 2021, 179-201. DOI: 10.37002/biobrasil.v11i2.1738
- Presentation and publication at the 7th International Wildland fire Conference (II): Saharjo, B.H. and J.G. Goldammer. 2021. Bridging the Services of the WMO Vegetation Fire and Smoke Pollution Warning Advisory and Assessment System (VFSP-WAS) to Politics, Policies and Land Management: the South East Asia Example and Global Visions. Biodiversidade Brasileira 11 (2), 2021, 202-212. DOI: 10.37002/biobrasil.v11i2.1740
- WMO / joint statement at the 7th International Wildland Fire Conference 2019 (IWFC-7): https://gfmc.online/wp-content/uploads/IWFC-7-Statement-WMO-GAW-WHO-PAHO-IBBI-GFMC.pdf
- WMO VFSP-WAS website: https://community.wmo.int/activity-areas/gaw/science/modelling-applications/vfsp-was
Participants of the WMO Workshop in Jakarta, Indonesia (29 August 2016)
Photo: BMKG
WMO Support to Develop the Health Guidelines for Vegetation Fire Events
Building on some of the recommendations of the Singapore workshop, the WMO co-sponsored the workshop Workshop on WHO Health Guidelines for Episodic Vegetation Fire Events, in which the the guidelines were drafted. The final versions of the guidelines are available at the GFMC WHO web space at:
Related publications by WMO
One of the eight Technical Commissions of the WMO is the Commission of Agricultural Meteorology (CAgM). The CAgM Publications Repository includes three fire-related publications, which are mirrored below:
- Forecasting for Fire Services (1961) (PDF, 2.8 MB)
- Wildland Fires Particularly in the Tropical Regions (1982) (PDF, 1.2 MB)
- Fire in Forests, Rangelands and Agricultural System (2006) (PDF, 0 MB)
WMO hosted the meeting of the members of the initial UNISDR Working Group Wildland Fire and constituting members of the International Liaison Committee of the International Wildland Fire Conferences (December 2001). First row (from left to right): Johann Georg Goldammer (GFMC, convener), Ms. Etsuko Tsunozaki (UNISDR Secretariat), Eduard P. Davidenko (Russia); Brian J. Stocks (Canada). Second row: Christopher O. Justice (GOFC-GOLD, U.S.A.), Gary Morgan (SOPAC, Australia), Liisa Jalkanen (WMO). Third row: Stephen J. Pyne (Arizona State University, U.S.A.), Dieter Schwela (WHO), Denny Truesdale (U.S. Forest Service) and Peter G.H. Frost (Zimbabwe).
