Tree cutting, tracks, cisterns... The intercommunal plan for clearing and forest management will be revised within the Coeur du Var agglomeration

This is the kind of expenditure that, when presented to elected officials at a community council meeting, does not give rise to any debate. And does not allow for any dispute.

The Intercommunal Plan for Clearing and Forest Management – ​​or PIDAF for short – is a consensus: it is a useful investment.

"Necessary, even," corrects Yannick Simon, president of the Cœur du Var community of communes, who recently announced his desire to revise the document, which has reached the end of its life.

"It's a work programming tool that lasts around ten years," explains Yoann Bracco, a technician from the inter-municipal "forest" division.

First voted on in 2010 and amended since, the document deserved a proper review.

This is precisely the process that is being undertaken at this moment: the first studies will soon be carried out, for two years of work, before the adoption of the final document.

What is a Pidaf?

But first, what is a PIDAF? Basically, it's a series of fact sheets detailing the actions to be taken to help fight forest fires.

Actions that mainly involve the maintenance of DFCI trails, an acronym for forest fire defense, which refers to all the paths that crisscross forest areas and are used by firefighters during operations.

Sometimes an old hunting trail, exceptionally a tarmacked track specially laid out by a previous Pidaf, and more generally a dirt track laid out by common sense and maintained since, the DFCI tracks must be useful and usable.

This is the purpose of the PIDAF: to define the paths to be maintained and to put this maintenance into practice. For Cœur du Var, this represents a total of 400 kilometers of path.

Three successive studies

But that's not all. A DFCI project isn't just about trails: the term also encompasses fuel cutting operations in the forest.

To simplify, it involves cutting down trees in areas of high density, which tend to encourage fires.

During the last work program undertaken, the areas identified for timber harvesting covered 1,400 hectares of forest. This represents a total of 28,000 hectares of wooded areas in the heart of the Var region.

Finally, there are the tanks. There is some uncertainty regarding who is responsible for minor maintenance work on this equipment.

This is a vagueness that the community of communes wanted to erase by simply taking on responsibility for these tanks, whether it be the purchase, filling or any repairs. "Innovative and pioneering," notes the president of the inter-municipality.

Others could be inspired by it.

Environmental constraints

The PIDAF is a bit of all of that. And its revision is a major undertaking that will take place in three stages: first, a polygon study, which will focus on considering the possible behavior of fires in the area; then, an operational study, to more precisely define the works (maintenance or creation of tracks, cuts, tanks, etc.) to be carried out; and finally, an environmental study, to reconcile environmental protection issues with firefighting issues.

While the first two stages are carried out in partnership with the various stakeholders and financiers (firefighters, Department and Region in particular), the last one tends to raise eyebrows with the president.

"The PIDAF must be approached intelligently, not dogmatically. There are a number of rules that make us do less, or do our work less well. Regulations trump common sense."

In short, for the protection of certain species of fauna or flora, the services are constrained, and "this results in delays in implementation" .

In short, it's not simple. But that's not enough to change Yannick Simon's conviction: "It's a moral responsibility, to protect people and property. And the forest is also our heritage." We might as well take care of it.

The guidelines for the next Pidaf of Cœur du Var

It's still early days, but ideas are already germinating. And for good reason: many things have changed since the last "major" version of the PIDAF. This time, the goal will be to propose a document with more comprehensive recommendation sheets, in order to propose a work schedule for the next ten years, whereas today, everything is done every year or almost every year.

In more detail, Yoann Bracco, a forestry technician in charge of the PIDAF (Plan for Forestry), under the direction of the vice-president in charge of the project, Michel Mondani (Mayor of Les Mayons), discusses some of the avenues being considered to inform the next programming document, taking into account the specific features of the region.

The management is growing

Cœur du Var isn't relying solely on public procurement, although these remain necessary for many projects. Under the leadership of elected officials, some of the PIDAF's work will be carried out in-house.

"We want to develop this aspect," notes Yannick Simon, president. "There are advantages: flexibility and responsiveness. Not to mention cost control, even if it requires initial investment in the purchase of machinery, for example."

Moreover, in addition to the subsidies for carrying out the work, there are those for the purchase of equipment. In short, the formula is attractive.

Another option: take advantage of innovations, if possible. Such as flying a drone over inaccessible areas to determine whether intervention is necessary during fuel cuts.

But it is also necessary to know how to "reintegrate ancestral practices" , such as "directed burning, pastoralism or forestry" in order to help create an environment conducive to fighting fires.

Finally, the new PIDAF will inevitably draw on feedback from recent forest fires, including the Gonfaron fire in 2021, but not only that.

"We want to take into account the issues related to climate change, which promotes super fires, for example."

A risk that Yannick Simon knows is real. "We're trying to help fight the fire. But the main thing is to prevent the fire from starting at all."