31.7.92 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 217/3 COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 2158/92 of 23 July 1992 on protection of the Community’s forests against fire THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Articles 43 and 130s thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ('), Having regard to the opinion of the European Par- liament (3), Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (°), Whereas forests play an essential role in maintaining basic equilibria, particularly as regards the soil, water resources, climate, fauna and flora; Whereas forests therefore contribute towards the safegu- arding and development of agriculture and the country- side, which may be greatly dependent on the presence and good upkeep of the surrounding forests ; Whereas, espcially in the southern parts of the Commu- nity, this role of forests is under threat from fire, which damages vast tracts of forested land every year; Whereas the protection of forests against fire is an urgent and important issue for the Community and whereas the Community must make a greater contribution to the efforts of Member States to improve such protection ; Whereas, in order to reduce the number and extent of fire outbreaks and areas burnt, the Community’s contribution must be directed towards the need to combat the causes of fire and to provide fire prevention and forest surveil- lance measures ; Whereas the Community’s contribution must be concen- trated primarily in the areas which face a permanent or cyclical fire risk ; whereas the territory of the Community must therefore be classified according to the degree of risk of forest fire and the contribution must vary with the degree of risk in a given area; Whereas, especially in areas of high fire risk, the Commu- nity must contribute to the implementation of integrated () OJ No C 312, 3. 12. 1991, () Opinion delivered on 10 _]uly 1992 (not yet published in the Official ]ouma 1), ¢) OJ No C 106, 27. 4. 1992, p. 1. forest fire protection plans, comprising measures to elimi- nate causes and to institute or improve systems of preven- tion and monitoring ; Whereas the setting-up of a data bank covering the Member States and the Community can constitute an important tool for improving the system of forest fire protection ; Whereas, in order to facilitate the implementation of the measures contemplated, close cooperation must be esta- blished between the Member States and the Commission ; whereas such cooperation may be achieved through the Standing Forestry Committee ; Whereas provision should be made, for the purposes of this Regulation, for a programme with a duration of five years ; Whereas an amount of ECU 70 million is deemed neces- sary for the implementation of that multiannual programme ; whereas, for 1992, in the context of the present financial perspective, the amount deemed neces- sary is ECU 12 million; Whereas the amounts to be committed for financing the programme for the period after the financial year 1992 will have to form part of the Community financial frame- work in force, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION : Article 1 1. In order to provide increased protection for forests and in particular to step up efforts undertaken to main- tain and monitor forest ecosystems and to safeguard the various functions which forests fulfil for the benefit of rural areas, a Community scheme for the protection of forests against fire, hereinafter referred to as ‘the scheme’, is hereby instituted. 2.  The purpose of the scheme is: — to reduce the number of forest fire outbreaks, — to reduce the extent of areas burnt. 3. The scheme shall comprise : (@) measures to identify the causes of forest fires and the means of combating them, and in particular :