24  February 2015 - A report published today by the European Court of Auditors (ECA) reveals that EU funding for preventing forest fires and restoring forests damaged by natural disasters and fire was not sufficiently well-managed.

The European Commission and the Member States cannot demonstrate that the intended results of the funding were achieved in a cost-effective way, say the EU auditors.
“It is important that EU funding goes to only those measures that can bring clear and visible benefits to the EU and its citizens,” commented Nikolaos Milionis, the ECA Member responsible. “The Commission and the Member States were unable to adequately assess the impact of the preventive actions as their effectiveness had not been measured. We have issued recommendations on how to improve the situation in the current 2014-2020 funding period.”

In the EU the total area of forests and other wooded land accounts for approximately 180 million hectares, which constitutes roughly 42,4 % of the total EU land area and exceeds that used for agriculture. Forests serve economic, social and environmental purposes and their socioeconomic importance is high: wood production and processing contributes to rural development and provides millions of jobs, often in medium and small rural enterprises.
In the last 30 years, fires burned down an average of 480 000 hectares of forest in the EU every year. Over 95 % of these fires were caused by humans, either deliberately or through negligence. About 85 % of the total area destroyed by forest fires is located in the Mediterranean region and Portugal. Recent forest fires resulted in large burnt areas in Portugal in 2003 and 2005, in Spain in 2006, and in Greece in 2007. Seriously affected forests face a major challenge to recover their pre-fire condition, in particular with regard to biodiversity.
This Special Report (24/2014) entitled “Is EU support for preventing and restoring damage to forests caused by fire and natural disasters well managed?” examines whether the EAFRD support (Measure 226) for restoring forestry potential and introducing preventive actions has been well managed, and whether the Commission and the Member States can demonstrate that the support has achieved its intended objectives in a cost-effective way.
The audit covered both the Commission and five Member States – Austria, France (Aquitaine), Italy (Basilicata), Slovakia and Spain (Andalusia) – accounting for more than 85 % of the total spending under Measure 226. Most of the support (80 %) was for preventive actions, mainly against fire.
Management of rural development support for restoring forestry potential and introducing preventive actions is shared between the Commission and the Member States. Member States develop rural development programmes at national or regional level, and implement these once they have been approved by the Commission.