The Netherlands, a country showing warmer and drier weather patterns, is facing a growing threat from wildfires. Compared to the United States, the Dutch have little experience with wildfires and have not traditionally used fire as a management tool. This has resulted in a lack of local knowledge regarding fire ecology, fire behavior, and what to do in the event of a wildfire. Recent years have revealed an increase in fire activity, specifically in the Veluwe region of the country, which is a forested region in the center of the country located within the province of Gelderland. The Veluwe is a popular tourist area for Dutch and international visitors and the increased risk of wildfires paired with the dense population and visitation in this region has caused public safety authorities concern. A collaborative effort between Stephen F. Austin State University and the Instituut Fysieke Veiligheid (IFV), the Dutch public safety agency, has created and distributed a survey that will reveal and quantify public opinions and perceptions regarding wildland fire and public expectations of government agencies in the event of a wildfire. Methods
The survey distribution took place during July of 2015. Questions focused on some basic demographic information, the individual’s relationship with nature, wildfire preparedness, and wildfire awareness. The surveys were distributed at several sites located in the Veluwe region. The survey were distributed at two small villages (Wageningen-‐hoog and Wolfheze), two attraction parks (the Apenheul Primate Park and the Julianatoren Amusement Park), and two campgrounds (Lorkenbos and Wije Werelt).A Dutch student and a trainee at the IFV aided in distribution of the surveys and certain variables, such as number of participants who decline to take the survey, the weather on distribution day, and the gender and age of the distributors will be recorded by distributers to attain non-‐response data. All original surveys were scanned and brought back to the United States.
Determining Public Perceptions Toward Wildfire in the Veluwe Region of the Netherlands Amy Brennan Committee: Drs. Brian Oswald, Pat Stephens Williams, Ray Darville, and Sarah McCaffrey
Results We brought 1000 Dutch versions of the survey and 250 English versions. We collected 508 useable surveys over the course of ten collection days, with an addition 13 surveys that were found too incomplete to utilize for analysis. Out of those collected, approximately half were collected from the attraction parks, and a fourth from both the campgrounds and the villages. While complete analysis has not yet been conducted, there are some preliminary findings of note. Respondents to this survey have high expectations of government agencies. 76% of respondents say the government is responsible for educating them on what to do in the event of a wildfire, while 81% say it is the duty of the government to inform them if a wildfire starts. Awareness of the wildfire problem in the Netherlands is higher than anticipated; 45% of participants have heard of a wildfire in the Netherlands, while 74% believe it is either likely or very likely that a wildfire will break out in the Netherlands within the next two years. While 65% of participants believe that wildfires are moderately or extremely serious of a threat to people living in the Veluwe, only 7% claimed they were prepared for a wildfire in the Veluwe. Discussion This research will provide valuable insight to the thought-‐processes of residents and visitors to the Veluwe. From what we have gathered thus-‐far, there is an acknowledgement that a wildfire will occur, but serious efforts need to be made to stress the threat of wildfire to those individuals who live and recreate in this region. Upon completion of analysis, recommendations will be made to our Dutch partners at how best to communicate risk to people in the Veluwe and, ultimately, we would like to implement an education program similar to the US Firewise Communities Program. Amy Brennan is pursuing a Master of Science in Forestry at Stephen F. Austin State
University. She received her Bachelor of Science in Forestry with an emphasis in Recreation Management from Stephen F. Austin State University.