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The Community of Wildfire Innovation in Catalonia kicks off in Solsona 

28 October 2022

The CWI is a community to discuss the necessary innovations in the field of future forest fires in Catalonia and establish the roadmap for the coming years 

The FIRE-RES project develops practical solutions to advance the implementation of an integrated fire risk strategy and achieve landscapes resilient to forest fires 

This week, the CTFC hosted the 1st meeting of the Community of Wildfire Innovation in Catalonia (CWI), made up of more than 30 representatives from the administration, the private sector, research and transfer, and civil society. This Community, led by CTFC researchers, was born within the framework of the European project H2020 Green Deal FIRE-RES, and the Living Lab associated with Catalonia. 

Uniting 34 partners in Europe and Chile, the FIRE-RES (Innovative technologies and socio-ecological-economic solutions for fire resilient territories in Europe) project is developing and implementing a series of practical solutions to create fire-resilient forest landscapes – with emphasis on extreme forest fires or 6th generation fires. These solutions will be carried out in eleven Living Labs, including Catalonia, to co-create and advance in alignment with the relevant actors in the implementation of an integrated fire risk strategy and achieve territories and societies capable of continuing their social, ecological, and economic functions after wildfire events. 

The idea behind the CWI is the creation of an intersectoral working group to discuss the necessary measures and innovations in the field of forest fires in Catalonia and establish the roadmap for the coming years. This group has the participation of relevant actors in all areas of competence that affect forest fires in Catalonia, including the various points of view discussed during the debates within the community. 

During this first CWI meeting, group exercises were carried out to define the current situation and the critical factors for integrated fire management, define the common vision to be achieved in the medium/long term and identify current deficiencies and necessary innovations to achieve the objectives. Using the contributions from the different actors, the CTFC researchers will begin to draft the roadmap based on the common vision to, in future meetings, evaluate the progress and continue working on the transition roadmap towards fire-resilient landscapes, as well as how to identify the tools and actions necessary to do so. 

Based on each of the key intervention areas identified during this meeting, more defined challenges will be discussed to launch an Open Innovation Campaign during 2023. 

Although this community is formed within the framework of the European FIRE-RES project, it is expected to continue after the end of the project to periodically analyze the situation and update the roadmap. 

Last modified: 28 October 2022