Experts and institutional representatives work together to identify needs and proposals to enhance policy coherence in wildfire risk management in Catalonia.
Yesterday, December 4, the Community of Innovation on Wildfires in Catalonia (CIIFCat), created as part of the European FIRE-RES project, held its third meeting at the Forest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTFC). The main objective of the event was to advance integrated wildfire risk management, aligning with the priorities established in previous meetings and European policies.
Antoni Trasobares, director of the CTFC and coordinator of the FIRE-RES project, opened the meeting by emphasizing the importance of building a public-private collaboration framework to address the challenges posed by wildfires in the context of climate change. Tools and preliminary results developed under the FIRE-RES project, aimed at providing innovative solutions for integrated wildfire risk management in Europe, were also presented.
The workshop was structured to promote coherence among Catalonia’s sectoral policies on wildfires, in line with European priorities. Discussions focused on four key thematic areas: implementing resilient landscapes and promoting agroforestry bioeconomy; integrating wildfire risk into territorial and urban planning; improving population protection against extreme wildfires; and reconciling forest ecosystem conservation with risk management.
Participants were divided into thematic working groups to facilitate in-depth discussions. Each group, led by experts and representatives with relevant competencies, analyzed specific topics such as territorial planning and management, risk governance, ecosystem restoration measures, and the need to adapt sectoral policies to new challenges. Each participant had the opportunity to contribute to two of the four topics during the workshop, fostering a cross-sector exchange of ideas.
The day concluded with a plenary session where preliminary results from each group were presented, identifying synergies and common aspects among the areas discussed.
The results of this workshop will be compiled into a report to be further developed with all attendees. The next CIIFCat meeting is scheduled for 2025. The ultimate goal of this work is to create a roadmap for achieving more resilient landscapes against extreme wildfires in Catalonia.
This workshop is part of the Community of Innovation on Wildfires in Catalonia (CIIFCat), which has already held two previous meetings (in October 2022 and May 2024) and will conclude with a fourth meeting in 2025. This third workshop reaffirms CIIFCat’s importance as a key multisectoral platform to coordinate efforts, share knowledge, and drive concrete actions in the fight against wildfires.
Last modified: 5 December 2024
