On 20 and 21 May, the final edition of this flagship event by Firelogue Clustering was held in Brussels. It was an opportunity to present the ambitious Integrated Wildfire Risk Management Strategy for Europe, and a precious time for the Green Deal Innovation Actions to take stock of their achievements with an eye to the future.
Innovation and integrated approach: working for a better wildfire management in Europe
The event served as the official launch of the working document “An Integrated Wildfire Risk Management Strategy for the EU: developing resilient landscapes and safer communities“, resulting from the active contributions of a large consortium of scientists and practitioners from the EU Green Deal wildfire research projects, including FIRE-RES, FirEUrisk, TREEADS, and SILVANUS.
Following scene-setter contributions of Kirsten Thonicke (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research) and Jelmer Dam (Netherlands Institute for Public Safety, NIPV), the first day aimed at presenting an overview of the working document, including an intervention by FIRE-RES project coordinator Antoni Trasobares (CTFC), while diving deeper into its different focus areas, including governance, risk assessment, and stakeholder engagement. A high-level panel discussion elicited encouraging insights by representatives of the European Commission’s DG ENV and DG ECHO, the World Bank, and the JRC, with a view to policy contributions and possible coordinated approaches to implement the European strategy.
FIRE-RES coordinated a session dedicated to Risk Management and Adaptive Planning for designing resilient landscapes, with a keynote by José Borges (ISA). Moreover, some Innovation Actions leaders presented their latest developments, including the Pan European Fuel Map Server, the Fire Education Platform, and the Integrative system to support EWE decision-making. Overall, the diverse yet harmonised contributions covered the wildfire risk management’s extensive conceptual scope, touching upon social, health, environmental, and economic impacts and proposing innovative approaches for risk assessment and mitigation at the landscape level.
Day two: Overcoming barriers and innovations for a better IWFM strategy
The second day was dedicated to gathering input from the wider community of stakeholders on the proposed strategy and to explore innovative solutions in fire risk management. Two round tables were held in the morning: the first addressed the impact of European policies on fire risk management and the need for a joint strategy. Here, the latest report “Policy options for a fire-adapted and fire-literate Europe” by the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC) was presented, calling for a shift in EU wildfire policy from reactive suppression to proactive, risk-based land management. Another session focused on the perspectives of practitioners in fire risk management, giving a voice to those on the front line during emergencies. Between the two discussions, an interactive workshop encouraged the participants to formulate recommendations to further improve and implement the integrated strategy.
Later, the EU Green Deal wildfire projects took the stage in a dedicated exhibition area, inviting attendees to learn more about the different approaches and outcomes, and letting experts and innovators illustrate how their solutions can be applied and implemented.
