Alleged and Actual Economic Effectiveness of Fighting Wildfires in Siberia

Abstract

The paper contains a critical evaluation of economic substantiation of decisions by responsible governmental and regional bodies on fighting large-scale wildfires in the summer of 2019 in Siberia. The author believes that the above-mentioned substantiation considerably underestimates the risk to human life and health posed by fires. Based on (a) priorities of hazards to safety of communities, primarily those most vulnerable to the impact (the deadliest threat stems from smoke containing toxic and hazardous substances rather than blaze); and (b) WHO criteria of economic efficiency of rescue measures, it is argued that the costs (expenses) of extinguishing wildfires are socioeconomically effective. Moreover, the costs of timely measures on localization of wildfires in areas without settlements and installations (the so-called control zones) that have hotspots accessible to ground or air firefighting operations are considered highly effective. The paper argues that wildfire safety should be regarded as a national security issue requiring comprehensive policy which repudiates a formal fiscal approach still used to evaluate effectiveness of measures to reduce hazards to human health and save human lives.