LISBON, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Portuguese parliament approved on Wednesday the creation of an Independent Technical Observatory to analyze, monitor and evaluate the forest fires that might erupt in the country.
According to the bill, the Independent Technical Observatory will be composed of 10 national and international experts, with responsibilities in the field of civil protection, fire prevention and combat, which will perform functions for four years.
Six of the members of the Independent Technical Observatory will be appointed by the parliament speaker while the Council of Rectors of the Portuguese Universities and the Coordinating Council of the Portuguese Polytechnical Institutes will appoint two members each.
The Observatory is obliged to submit two annual reports, one by June 30 and the other until Dec. 30, to summarize its work.
The Portuguese government was blamed for not doing enough in combating deadly forest fires erupted in the north and central part of the country in June and October last year, which claimed more than 100 lives.
