The Monastery of Saint George (Agios Georgios), surrounded by trees, is located at the highest peak of Büyükada, the biggest and most beautiful island of Istanbul's Princes' Islands. This Monastery is named after the Roman Army Officer, Anatolian Saint George, who was killed because of his Christian beliefs by idolaters in the 3rd century A.D. and was buried in Palestine. It tells the story of the Antonios Maletchko Monastery, which was burned down by the Crusaders, who pillaged the then Constantinople and its vicinity, during the IV Crusade in 1204. A century later, the Monastery was pillaged and burned down during a wave of attacks from pirates under the Venetian Giustiniani.
Two forest fires, one in 1986 and the other in 1994 reached the Monastery and burned this historical place to ashes. Although centuries had passed, the Monastery's ashes had once more been scattered, but this time in the 20th century, where there was neither crusaders nor pirates; just forest fires.
Now that it is restored, the Monastery of Saint George stands once more in its historical place. However, forest fires all around the world threaten not just the past but also the present. Aerial firefighting in forest fires was unimaginable for the Byzantine official or the Ottoman tulumbacı (member of the fire brigade). Today, great improvements in technology have been achieved in aerial firefighting. The quick response to hot spots that cannot be reached by road is now possible via the sky.

Mediterranean's Risk

A forest fire in Turkey's most popular holiday region, Antalya, in mid-July could not be controlled for days. The fire ominously moved towards settlement areas from the forest region and despite the great struggle given by firefighters under extremely difficult conditions, the fire still raged on for an uncomfortably long time. The most important reasons for the inability to control the fire quickly were (1) wind and (2) the inadequacy of aerial firefighting vehicles.
Such forest fires in the Mediterranean region enslave the hot holiday belt every year stretching from Spain to Turkey. Massive life threatening forest fires - as experienced in Antalya - cannot be controlled for days. Despite the huge sums of money that are spent on the leasing of helitacks and air tankers being debated over the summer months, the same temporary solution is used again for the next season. What's more is that Mediterranean states, which are close to the deserts of the Arab Peninsula and Africa, are the first in line to feel the effects of climate change.
Turkey is the most troubled Mediterranean state in terms of forest fires. On the one hand, they have terrorist organisations carrying out heinous arson attacks on forests, and on the other, they have inadequacies in forest firefighting... Despite the many proposed projects, Turkey continues to lease 18 helitacks and 20 air tankers every summer. The annual cost of this is approximately $20 million dollars. The 18 Mi-17 helicopters were leased from Ukraine and the 20 CL-215, the older version of Bombardier Canadair 415, were leased from predominantly western states. This though seems to be the main reason behind the continuous trouble when it comes to fighting forest fires. If Turkey were to choose to buy rather than lease every year, it would enhance her fire security and facilitate the necessary conditions whereby professional crews can be trained and educated to be available instantly for fast response action.
The Russian Federation and Canada are constantly developing new technology for aerial firefighting. In recent years, Russia has reached an advanced level of development in this field. The multi-purpose Berniev Be-200 airplane and the Kamov Ka-32A1 and Ka-32A11BC helicopters have become the most sought after aerial firefighting vehicles in the world.

Comparison of Russia and Canada

Many states all around the world have bought Kamov helicopters. Spain, Switzerland (HeliSwiss), Canada (Vancouver Island Helicopters for Logging), South Korea, Portugal, Germany (Helog), Taiwan, Tenerife, Papua New Guinea and Myanmar are some of the customers of the Kamov helicopter, with Japan becoming the latest to buy Kamov 32s with an acquisition in 2007. Problems with compatibility, which was the main concern during the Cold War, have disappeared because Russian airplanes and helicopters have now been awarded with the most significant security certificates in the world. In Canada, the Ka-32A11BC has gained the IAR29 certificate. Currently, the Ka-32 is in the process of being certificated in accordance with the norms of the European Aviation Security Agency (this process is expected to be completed during 2008) and it has already been awarded the JAR OPS certificate.
Although, the level of competition in this field is high, Canada has been using Kamov helicopters since 1993. HSE, a company in Spain acquired its first Kamov helicopters in 2004. Spain bought 2, in 2005, and 4, in late-2007. The L-6 International Aviation Group in South Korea bought its first Ka-32 in the 1990s. Today, the Korean Forest Aviation and Maritime Police are using 47 Ka-32's.
The Ka-32 has succeeded in putting out forest fires in Chile. If Turkey were to adopt them they could serve a dual-purpose and be used as air ambulance helicopters as well as for firefighting since Turkey also lacks adequate equipment in this area. It can also be used to reach the difficult to access remote areas of Eastern Anatolia.
The Berniev Be-200 has proven its efficiency in forest fires in Greece and Croatia. Two Be-200's were used in forest fires in Greece last summer and in December 2007. Greece has also announced its intention to order an undisclosed number of Be-200's. Italy deployed one Be-200, which was leased from Irkut, in Sardinia. In Portugal, Be-200s were used in 80 firefighting missions in the course of one month. Portugal leased its Be-200 from Irkut also. From October-December 2006, the Be-200 was highly successful in Indonesia's forest and peat fires.
Today, the Be-200's ability to fly in tropical conditions, high temperatures and low visibility and to scoop water in difficult conditions is the main reason why it succeeded in extinguishing more than 8000 fires in the space of one and half months in Indonesia.
The Be-200 is in great competition with Canadair 415. However, the water capacity of the 415 is two times lower than the Be-200. The speed of scooping is also slower then the Be-200. The Be-200 is able to take off from reservoirs deeper than 2 metres, from seawater scooping under conditions of 1.5-2 meter high waves with a sea force of three. It can also take up to 12 tons of water in 14 seconds in [Hydroglisor] state.

Conclusion

In conclusion, countries that live on the hot belt of the Mediterranean who suffer the ever worsening effects of global warming need to take decisive and pre-emptive action if they are to make an impact on the increasing devastation caused by forest fires. Thousands of hectares of vital forests that disappear every year are not only ecological disasters but fuel the rate at which global warming takes a grip on the world. Turkey who has the added responsibility of being the protector of countless archaeological sites and historic buildings bequeathed from thousands of years of ancient civilizations is in particular need of solving this problem. Sensible investment in new aerial technology and specialist, trained rapid response teams can reduce the problem significantly and in the long run avert many of the tragic suffering of those that lose their livelihoods, their homes and sadly their lives.