The Use of Earth Observation Data in Wildfire Risk Management: A Case Study from Lebanon

Abstract

Wildfires in Lebanon pose an increasing threat not only to the natural environment but also to urban settings and local communities near forests. In response to this increasing threat, the Government of Lebanon endorsed a National Strategy (i.e., the Strategy) for forest fire management (Decision No. 52/2009). The Strategy acknowledged that decisions about wildfires are best made within a risk management framework including five different components, known as the 5Rs, namely (R1) Research, information and analysis; (R2) Risk modification, including fire vulnerability reduction and prevention of harmful fires; (R3) Readiness; (R4) Response, including all means of intervention for fire suppression; and (R5) Recovery, including the rehabilitation and ecological restoration of healthy forest conditions. Various tools and instruments were essentially needed to support the implementation of each component of the Strategy. These included the use of Earth Observation (EO) data and the employment of different remote sensing techniques among others. More specifically, satellite remote sensing proved to be useful for fire risk management as EO offered precise and frequent data especially that Lebanon lacked reliable national data on fire risk. In this context, the aim of this work was to review how EO contributed to fire risk management in Lebanon before (i.e., R1, R2 and R3) and after fire occurrence (i.e., R5) while supporting forecast and early detection of fires (i.e., R4). This study started by presenting EO cases which served as background information on the potential use of satellite remote sensing throughout the 5 Rs of the Strategy. The second part presented a case study from Lebanon on the actual use of EO in fire risk management.