Some forest ecosystems have evolved in response to frequent fires from natural causes, but most others are susceptible to the effects of wildfire, and every year millions of hectares of the world's forests are consumed by fire, resulting in enormous losses to the economy in timber burned and real estate degraded, damage to environmental, recreational and amenity values, high costs of suppression and even loss of life. The vast majority of today's fires in forest and woodlands are caused by humans, mainly as the result of the use of fire as a land management tool e.g. for conversion of forests into agricultural lands, for maintaining grazing lands or for facilitating the extraction of non-wood forest products. Forests are also burnt to clear the land for mining, industrial development or resettlement.
Forest fires can result from personal and ownership conflicts.
Although fire has been the primary agent of deforestation, as a natural process it has an important function in the health and maintenance of certain ecosystems. Thus the traditional view of fire as a destructive agent requiring immediate suppression has given way to the view that fire can and should be used to meet land management goals under specific ecological conditions. FAO considers fire management an integral part of the conservation and sustainable management of forests. For more than 50 years, FAO has provided information and technical assistance to its member countries in the area of forest fire management.