REGIONAL MESOAMERICA WILDLAND FIRE NETWORK

A Region of the Global Wildland Fire Network

Meetings, Conferences, Fire Management Training

Programa Anual de Acción Bicantonal. Bagaces y Cañas, Costa Rica.

Dirigido a las comunidades y administraciones de los cantones de Bagaces y Cañas desde el 15 de enero de 2023 al 14 de enero de 2024 (primera etapa)

Programa dirigido por Wildfire Functional Training en unión con las cuadrillas de bomberos forestales de San Ramón, Miravalles y Cañas

Con la misión de cumplir con un proceso que empodere a cada comunitario y a cada miembro relacionado que integre las instituciones pertenecientes a las Administraciones Locales, sean escuelas, asociaciones varias y agencias locales, las cuadrillas de San Ramón, Miravalles y Cañas hemos decidido unirnos para crear una brigada de bomberos forestales que no solo brinde una respuesta a la emergencia en nuestros cantones, si no que mantenga el año entero realizando actividades que resultan incluso más importante que el combate del fuego mismo. Nos referimos a estimular un comportamiento diferente, una comprensión más profunda de nuestro entorno, los hechos que determinan nuestra actualidad, lo que podemos hacer para evitar desastres, pero más importante es dejar un mejor lugar para el futuro, resiliente y saludable que contribuya social, económica y políticamente.

Nuestra motivación nace en la búsqueda de un modelo que impacte de forma explícita y real en los espacios y las personas, que el común denominador sea nuestro planeta y por supuesto, poner en práctica un modelo reconocido, para ello, contamos con el apoyo de Wildfire FT, agrupación que convoca diversos profesionales de diferentes partes del planeta para dar soluciones relacionadas con el cambio climático a través de la presencia, uso, manejo y consecuencias del fuego, cuyo modelo es reconocido por la Global Fire Monitoring Center, agencia forestal de la Oficina de las Naciones Unidas para la Reducción del Riesgo de Desastres.

Training Materials 

  1. Wildfire FT – GFMC, Modelo CircularChart (Circular Model) (PDF, 0.4 MB)
  2. Wildfire FT – Bagaces & Cañas, Programa Anual para Comunidades y Administraciones Locales 2023-2024 (Yearly Program for Communities and Local Administrations 2023-2024) (PDF, 0.8 MB)
  3. Wildfire FT – Bagaces & Cañas, Carta a las Comunidades y Administraciones Locales (Letter to Communities and Local Administrations) (PDF, 0.6 MB)
  4. Wildfire FT – Bagaces & Cañas, Respuesta a la Emergencia para Comunidades y Administraciones Locales, Sesión 1 (Emergency Response for Communities and Local Administrations, Session 1) (PDF, 1.6 MB)
  5. Wildfire FT – Bagaces & Cañas, Respuesta a la Emergencia para Comunidades y Administraciones Locales, Sesión 2 (Emergency Response for Communities and Local Administrations, Session 2) (PDF, 1.8 MB)

Contact for further information:

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Retrospective impressions of Wildfire Functional Training or Wildfire FT activities

Prevention Events 2021-2022, Polcura Forestry, Quintay, Valparaiso, Chile

Education Program about Fire Using and Management as a Resilience Mechanism 2022-2023, South Peten, Guatemala

Technicals, Tacticals, Standards and Health Program 2022, PARQUEMET, Santiago, Chile

PROSASE Course, OBA (Organización de Bomberos Americanos) and CBS (Cuerpo de Bomberos de Santiago) 2022, Santiago, Chile

Education and Emergency Response Supporting 2022-2023, BRICA Tamarindo, Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Yearly Program for Communities and Local Administrations 2023-2024, Bagaces and Cañas, Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Wildland Urban Interface Problematic 2023-2024, Laguna Verde, Valparaiso, Chile

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GLOBAL WILDLAND FIRE NETWORK ACTIVITIES 2023

Planned activities of the Global Wildland Fire Network in 2023

Note: The implemented activities will be published on this website by end of 2023. This is an overview of some planned international activities of GFMC in 2023:

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GLOBAL WILDLAND FIRE NETWORK ACTIVITIES 2022 

Note: Photographic documentation of some activities is posted on the GFMC Calendar 2022 or on special web pages of the Regional Wildland Fire Networks. Thus, only a few selected illustrations are included in the summary post

03 February 2022
Online consultation with UNDRR Office on Disaster Risk Reduction on the future of international cooperation in landscape fire management and the creation of an international instrument tentatively designated “International Landscape Fire Management Framework”.

08 and 21 February 2022
Follow-up of the online conference of the regional planning workshop “Climate Change and Landscape Fire Management in the Western Balkans” conducted by the Regional Fire Monitoring Center for Southeast Europe / South Caucasus (RFMC), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and GFMC: Launch of the Landscape Fire Management Programme in the Western Balkans (start: April 2022), sponsored by SDC; Skopje (North Macedonia), Bern (Switzerland) and GFMC; online.

14 February 2022
Continuation of online conferences between the Independent Fire Management Committee and the Team of Mr. Stavros Benos, mandated by the Hellenic Government to develop a plan for post-fire reconstruction of Evia Island affected by wildfires in 2021. Participation: GFMC/Epitropi, Benos Team, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Greece; ministerial focal points of the German-Greek Assembly: Development of a plan of cooperation.

25 February 2022
Online consultation with UNDRR Office on Disaster Risk Reduction on the future of international cooperation in landscape fire management and the creation of an international instrument tentatively designated “International Landscape Fire Management Framework”.

24 February 2022
GFMC responding to the invasion of Russian Armed Forces and start of war in Ukraine. Initiating international support for Ukraine to secure the work of partners and evacuating families.

27 and 28 February 2022
Field visit of Nationaal Park Zuid Kennemerland and Gaienboos Forest (27 February 2022) in preparation of the First Bloemendaal Round Table on Fire Management in Nationaal Park Zuid Kennemerland and Adjoining Residential Areas, facilitated by GMFC, with GFMC introduction Fire Management in Forests and Nature Conservation Areas – and Wildfire Safety: History, Current Practices and Future Challenges. Implications for Gaaienbos / Nationaal Park Zuid Kennemerland and Adjoining Residential Areas; Nationaal Park Zuid Kennemerland and Gaienboos Forest and Bloemendaal City Hall, The Netherlands.

02 March2022
Online consultation with Fundación Manos Verdes por una mayor conciencia ambiental, Argentina, addressing the ongoing wildfires and future action to be taken at national and regional level; Buenos Aires, Argentina, and GFMC.

18-20 March2022
3rd Meeting of the Reconstruction Program of Northern Evia with the institutions and the citizens of Northern Evia, jointly with the Independent Landscape Fire Management Committee of Greece and the Team of Mr. Stavros Benos, mandated by the Hellenic Government to develop a plan for post-fire reconstruction of North Evia affected by wildfires in 2021. Fieldwork and stakeholder consultations on North Evia, co-organized by DIAZOMA and GSEVEE Associations; Agia Anna, North Evia, Greece.

21-23 March2022
Aerial Fire Fighting Conference North America 2022 (including handing over the Walt Darran Award 2022; San Diego, California, U.S.A.

25 March2022
Continuation of dialogue on reducing collateral environmental damages of the consequences war in Ukraine, including wildfires notably in Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, with Government of Ukraine and the OSCE

28 March2022
Trilateral consultation between GFMC, the Regional Eastern Africa Fire Management Resource Center (REAFMRC) and the Regional Western Africa Fire Management Resource Center (RWAFMRC); GFMC, Antananarivo (Madagascar) and Kumasi (Ghana).

05-07 April 2022
Kick-Off Meeting “Landscape Fire Management in the Western Balkans”, conducted by the Regional Fire Monitoring Center for Southeast Europe / South Caucasus (RFMC), FARMAHEM, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and GFMC: Launch of the Landscape Fire Management Programme in the Western Balkans; Skopje (North Macedonia).

25-26 April 2022
Wildfire Management Summit 2022, with GFMC contribution “Wildfires in Times of Crisis: Challenges for International Cooperation”, with emphasis on wildfire crises in contaminated terrain, conflict and post-conflict areas and perspectives towards development of an International Framework for Landscape Fire Management (J.G. Goldammer); San Francisco, California. U.S.A.)

16 May 2022
1er Séminaire Algéro-Canadien sur la Lutte Contre les Feux de Forêts par des Moyens Aériens ”Historique, Statut et Visions Futures” (GFMC Honorary Chair); Algiers, Algeria.

26 May 2022
Continuation of cooperation with the Reconstruction Program of Northern Evia with the institutions and the citizens of Northern Evia, jointly with the Independent Landscape Fire Management Committee of Greece and the Team of Mr. Stavros Benos, mandated by the Hellenic Government to develop a plan for post-fire reconstruction of North Evia affected by wildfires in 2021. Field work and stakeholder consultations on North Evia; North Evia, Limni, Greece.

27 May 2022
Consultation meeting with Minister for Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Hellenic Republic, Mr. Christos Stylianides, and Mr. Stavros Benos, on landscape fire management; Ministry for Climate Crisis and Civil Protection of Greece, Athens, Greece.

31 May 2022
Online meeting with the Organization for Security and Cooperation (OSCE) in preparation of bilateral co-operation projects on landscape fire management and wildfire disaster risk reduction to strengthen climate resilience in the South Caucasus; OSCE, Hofburg, Vienna, Austria, online-

06 June 2022
Follow-up of cooperation with the Reconstruction Program of Northern Evia with the institutions and the citizens of Northern Evia, jointly with the Independent Landscape Fire Management Committee of Greece and the Team of Mr. Stavros Benos, mandated by the Hellenic Government to develop a plan for post-fire reconstruction of North Evia affected by wildfires in 2021; Embassy of Germany, Athens, Greece (online)

03 September 2022
Public Communication of Fire and Emissions Fact Sheet “Fire of Forest and Land Control during Heat Wave on 2022”. Webinar organized by Forest Digest and Regional Fire Management Resource Center – South East Asia (RFMRC-SEA); online and Jakarta, Indonesia.

23 September 2022
Consultations with German Parliament (Deutscher Bundestag) Bundestagsfraktion Bündnis 90/Die Grünen (Parliamentary Group Green Party) and the Green parliamentary group of Berlin Parliament, on future of landscape fire management and national fire management strategy for Germany; Berlin, Bundestag, Germany

28-30 September 2022
Forest Firefighter Training Course for State Forestry Enterprises of Ukraine. Training organizers:

  • State Agency of Forest Resources of Ukraine
  • Regional East European Fire Monitoring Center
  • Ukrainian center for training, retraining and advanced training of forestry personnel Ukrcentrkadrylis
  • Educational and Scientific Institute of Forestry and Horticulture of the National University of Bioresources and Nature Management of Ukraine
  • Global Fire Monitoring Center (GFMC), Freiburg, Germany

Training participants: Staff of forest fire stations, senior foresters, foresters’ assistants and foresters of state forestry enterprises. In-person course with field exercise and GFMC contribution online; Ukrainian Center for Advanced Training of Forestry Personnel Ukrcentrkadrylis, Boyarka, Kyiv region, Ukraine.

05 October 2022
Prime Minister of Mongolia appointing Oyunsanaa Byambasuren, the head of Regional Fire Management Resource Center – Central Asia Region (FMRC-CAR) and Co-Director of GFMC, as first Director General of the newly established National Forestry Agency of Mongolia.

24-27 October 2022
Workshop “Develop, adopt and transfer innovative solutions and actions to prevent and control wildfires”, jointly organized by the General Directorate of Forestry Türkiye, Silva Mediterranea and FOREST EUROPE; Antalya, Türkiye.

Contributions by REEFMC, RFMC, Ukrainian partners and GFMC:

  • Johann Georg Goldammer: Cross-boundary Cooperation in Fire Management: Scaling-up from Regional to Global(PDF, 8 MB)
  • Nikola Nikolov and Cvetan Nikolovski: Regional cooperation in cross-boundary Fire Management in the Western Balkans: Retrospective and Perspectives for the way ahead
  • Sergiy Zibtsev: Building wildfire-resilient forests in Ukraine: Challenges by Climate Change, Radioactivity and Armed Conflict
  • Yana Vikhtiuk: Current Challenges for Forestry of Ukraine: Facing Reality of Wa
  • Volodymyr Braiko: From Science to Practice: Transfer of Knowledge and Technologies in Fire Management in Ukraine

Forest Europe online:

26 October 2022
German Disaster Risk Reduction Conference 2022 “Complex Crises”, with online workshop “Development of Wildfires and Countermeasures in the Context of Complex Scenarios”. The workshop presents (inter)national examples of wild fire prevention and control from the perspectives of practice and science. Links to other areas of disaster risk management will also be highlighted. GFMC contributions:

  • Wald- und Offenlandbrände in Deutschland und Europa 2022 – eine erste Bilanz (Wildfires in Germany and Europe 2022 – A preliminary Review)
  • Vorsorge zur Vermeidung und Bewältigung komplexer Großbrandlagen in Europa: Aufbau von Kompetenzen durch multilaterale Zusammenarbeit (Preparedness towards avoiding and managing complex large wildfires: Building competencies through multilateral cooperation) (with Forest Europe Liaison Unit)
  • Workshop agenda

12 November 2022
Launch of the monograph “Towards Fire-smart Landscapes” (Tropical Forest Issues TFI 61, edited by N. Pasiecznik and J.G. Goldammer), at COP-27, Sharm El-Sheikh, Global Landscapes Forum, Session “Fire-smart landscapes as promising approach for effective adaptation and mitigation”; 14:30-15:30 UTC+2, COP-27, Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

17-18 November 2022
Joint Meeting of the Committee of Permanent Correspondents and Directors of Specialised Centres, European and Mediterranean Major Hazards Agreement (Open Partial Agreement on the Prevention of, Protection Against, and Organization of Relief in Major Natural and Technological Disasters – EUR-OPA), Council of Europe; with GFMC contribution “Project Results 2017-20 and Plans for 2021” (J.G. Goldammer); Council of Europe, Paris, France.

04-07 December 2022
Cross-regional Workshop “Wildfire Management for Enhancing Climate Resilience and Security” organized by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA), adelphi, Global Fire Monitoring Center (GFMC) and Regional Fire Monitoring Center (RFMC) for SE Europe / Caucasus; Skopje, North Macedonia.

05-07 December 2022


56th Annual Meeting of the Fire Management Working Group (FMWG), North American Forest Commission (NAFC), hosted by CONAFOR; Zapopan, Jalisco, México.

20-21 December 2022
Capacity-building Need Assessment Workshop of the programme “Landscape Fire Management in the Western Balkans” (LFMWB). LFMWB is a programme on cross-boundary cooperation In landscape fire management, including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia, implemented in the first phase 2022-2025 by the Regional Fire Monitoring Center for Southeast Europe / South Caucasus (RFMC) through the Regional Executive Agency (REA) FARMAHEM, financed by Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and supported by GFMC; Skopje, North Macedonia.

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SOUTH EAST ASIA

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Regional Fire Management Resource Center – South East Asia (RFMRC-SEA)

A Regional Center of Excellence serving the Science-Policy-Practitioners Interface

In 2017, the partnering institutions Global Fire Monitoring Center (GFMC) and the University of Bogor established the Regional Fire Management Resource Center – South East Asia (RFMRC-SEA) at the Faculty of Forest Science of the University of Bogor, with financial support of German Federal Ministry for Food and Agriculture based on a decision of the German Bundestag (2017-2021). As a Regional Center of Excellence, the RFMRC-SEA is serving the Science-Policy-Practitioners Interface (SPPI). Open and transparent access of comprehensive online documentation provides information for professionals – the communities of fire managers, decision makers and policy makers – and for civil society including media.

The in-depth analysis Enhancing Fire Management Capacity in Indonesia: A Path for Reconciling Social and Environmental Conflicts by the Global Fire Monitoring Center -(2016) provided rationale for the establishment of RFMRC-SEA. Source of satellite image: NASA.

Besides related scientific research and academic education, RFMRC-SEA provides advisory support for the formulation and implementation of relevant sectoral and holistic policies in Indonesia, including and with priority – advisory services to the judicial system. Furthermore the Center promotes regional transboundary cooperation in South-East Asia through networks and provides training for enhancing fire management capacities (primarily: information, trainings, development of human resources and institutional capacities). The establishment of this regional competence center for fire management is a measure of the decentralization of the work of the GFMC in the frame of the Global Wildland Fire Network and the Regional Fire Management Resource Centers.

Inauguration and National Round Table on Fire Management – 2017

On 10 July 2017, RFMRC-SEA was inaugurated in conjunction with the National Inter-Agency Round Table on Fire Management, Republic of Indonesia (Jakarta, Ministry for Environment and Forestry – Manggala Wanabhakti):

Opening of the National Inter-Agency Round Table on Fire Management by GFMC Director Prof. Dr. Johann Georg Goldammer.

Opening of the Regional Fire Management Resource Center – South East Asia (RFMRC-SEA) by the Ministry for Environment and Forest, the Ambassador of Germany and GFMC.

The RFMRC-SEA Team and its leader, Prof. Dr. Bambang Hero Saharjo (right), his team and associated partners. All photos: RFMRC-SEA

RFMC-SEA Bulletin # 1

First Regional Round Table on Fire Management – 2018

On 06 to 07 June 2018, the first Regional Round Table and Consultation Enhancing Regional Cooperation in Fire Management in South East Asia, was organized by organized by RFMRC-SEA) and hosted by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Republic of Indonesia and GFMC (Manggala Wanabhakti, Jakarta, and RFMRC-SEA, Bogor Agricultural University, Indonesia):

Participants of the Regional Round Table and Consultation from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam as well as from GFMC presented the lessons learned and challenges ahead in fire management in Southeast Asia (middle photo). On the second day the international continued its discussion at the premises of RFMRC-SEA in Bogor. Photos: RFMRC-SEA.

RFMC-SEA Bulletin # 2

RFMC-SEA Bulletin # 2

Capacity Building of the Judiciary System

One of the major efforts and objectives of RFMRC-SEA is the support of the law enforcement and the judiciary system of Republic of Indonesia.

Regular training courses and seminars for judges and police are conducted at RFMRC-SEA.

National and international outreach work: RFMC-SEA Bulletin # 3

RFMRCE-SEA Research and Publications
During the phase of establishment of RFMRC-SEA – supported by GFMC and the German Government between 2017 and early 2022, the scientific-technical publications reveal the advancement of the work in fundamental landscape fire science and knowledge transfer at the Science-Policy Interface:

Field research and training: Sampling of peat fire emissions for laboratory analysis and field training for fire investigation of illegally set fires and wildfires by Indonesian Police

Cooperation with International Organizations

The scientific and policy outreach of RFMRC-SEA includes cooperative efforts with regional multilateral intergovernmental organizations such as the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), international organizations and the UN system. One of the major efforts of GFMC and RFMRC-SEA was the contribution to the development of the WMO Vegetation Fire and Smoke Pollution Warning Advisory and Assessment System (VFSP-WAS):

At the international workshop and training course “Forecasting Emissions from Vegetation Fires and their Impacts on Human Health and Security in South East Asia”, organized by WMO, IBBI, UNISDR/IWPM, GFMC & RFMRCE-SEA, UNU, GIZ, IGAC and BMKG in 2016 in Jakarta, Indonesia, the Southeast Asia Vegetation Fire and Smoke Pollution Warning Advisory and Assessment System (VFSP-WAS) was established in 2021.

At the UNFCCC COP-26 in Glasgow (UK), a thematic Side Event “Robust Actions on Integrated Forest Fire Management: Synergizing Resources in Achieving Indonesia Forestry and Other Land Use (FOLU) Net Sink 2030” (Indonesian Pavilion, 04 November 2021), chaired by the Minister for Environment and Forestry, Republic of Indonesia, was supported by RFMRC-SEA and GFMC. The Side Event addressed the advancements in reducing unnecessary and illegal use of fire in land-use change by law enforcement.

RFMRCE-SEA Awards

The Global Landscape Fire Award is awarded to individuals or institutions for “Recognition for the Successful Achievements in Reducing the Adverse Impacts of Landscape Fires on the Environment and Humanity and the Promotion of Sustainable and Safe Application of Fire in Land Use and Ecosystem Management”. The 2019 Award was granted Dr. Ir. Siti Nurbaya, MSc, Minister for Environment and Forestry (MoEF), Republic of Indonesia. Certificates of Distinction of the Award were granted to the head of RFMRC-SEA, Prof. Dr. Ir. Bambang Hero Saharjo, and Dr. Ir. Raffles Brotestes Panjaitan, Director of Forest and Land Fire Management, MoEF.

Ceremony of handing over the Global Landscape Fire Award 2019 on 11 September 2019 in the Ministry for Environment and Forestry, Republic of Indonesia, Jakarta, to the laureate Dr. Ir. Siti Nurbaya, and Certificates of Distinction for Prof. Dr. Ir. Bambang Hero Saharjo, and Dr. Ir. Raffles Brotestes Panjaitan, MSc, Director of Forest and Land Fire Management, Directorate General of Climate Change, Ministry for Environment and Forestry, Republic of Indonesia.

Prof. Dr. Bambang Hero Saharjo, head of the Regional Fire Management Resource Center – South East Asia (RFMRC-SEA) and Indonesia’s lead expert witness on environmentally catastrophic peatland fires, has been awarded the 2019 John Maddox Prize for Standing up for Science for his courage and integrity in standing up for sound science in the face of harassment, intimidation, and law suits (GFMC co-nominator); London, United Kingdom).

Bambang Hero Saharjo (second from right) after accepting the 2019 John Maddox Prize in London, 12 November 2019

Financial Sponsor of Establishment of RFMRC-SEA.

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Regional Eurasian Wildland Fire Network

A Region of the Global Wildland Fire Network

Hungary – FIRELIFE Project

The incidence of forest fires has greatly increased in the last few decades in Hungary. This is due to climate extremes, less precipitation, the increase of mean annual temperature and a series of winters without snowfall. As a result, the period of risk of fire has extended. Not only has the frequency of fires increased, but also their intensity and the speed at which they spread. This was especially true during the extremely hot summers of recent years. A larger area is burnt in these intense forest fires, as they are more difficult to extinguish. Fires are having an increased negative impact on vegetation, as well as on forest structure.

Objectives

The overall objective of FIRELIFE was to enhance effective, proactive and continuous forest fire prevention in Hungary. The project aimed to provide targeted information and messages on the basis of an up-to-date communication framework plan, with target groups also involved through personal contact. As 99% of forest fires are caused by human activity in Hungary, targeted and instant communication can effectively cut the number of forest fires. The aim was to organise training courses for teachers, social workers and farmstead caretakers, as well as for forest fire prevention experts (foresters, conservationists, firefighters). The courses were designed to build relationships and improve inter-agency cooperation on forest fire prevention.

The FIRELIFE – Hungarian forest fire prevention and training program (LIFE13 INF/HU/000827) provides information to teachers, social workers, farmers, and forest fire prevention experts to enhance forest fire prevention across the country:

FIRELIFE is sponsored by the European Commission

FIRELIFE Winner of a 2020 LIFE Award

Interview by the European Commission with FIRELIFE project leader Dr. Daniel Nagy, former GFMC staff and member of the Regional Eurasia Wildland Fire Network, given at 3 March 2021

The FIRELIFE team enhanced forest fire awareness and prevention across Hungary. The numbers of fires are sharply down as a result. They also won a LIFE Award for Climate for their efforts. Dr Daniel Nagy from the team told us more.

How bad are forest fires in Hungary?

Due to extreme weather conditions, the size of Hungary’s forest fires has risen tenfold over the last decade. We regularly see 1 000 hectares being burnt – an area roughly the size of 1 900 football fields.

Climate change also means fire danger periods have become longer – forest fires are now happening in February and even in October. And the number of fire danger days during the summer has also increased.

These fires endanger trees and the forest’s entire ecosystem. Animals and their habitats can be destroyed forever.

What did you set out to achieve?

We knew that 99% of these fires are caused by humans. People throwing away cigarette butts, burning materials in their gardens or having barbecues are the most common ways forest fires start. We wanted to try and change people’s behaviour, and this was the idea behind FIRELIFE.

What activities did you undertake?

Our project combined communications and training.

We developed promotional material like posters, billboards, brochures, and flyers tailored to our various target audiences. For children, the information showed the dangers that forest fires pose to wild animals. The causes and how to prevent forest fires were presented to adults, and for smokers, we showed the dangers of dropping a cigarette butt on the ground. These materials also informed landowners of local fire regulations.

We didn’t have a lot of money, so we worked together with ministries, fire services and schools who acted as multipliers and spread our materials to their audiences at events and through their networks. This was a cost-effective way of getting our messages across. Overall, five million brochures and flyers were produced and sent across the country.

We worked with a chainsaw and a sportswear retailer who displayed our materials in their shops.

We also held more than 60 public events and were regularly featured on television, radio, print and online.

What was the impact?

We reached 80% of the population, which I’m proud of. But the most important result is that our approach worked. Many residents now know that forest fires come from human actions and that they don’t just happen on television.

This heightened awareness among all our target groups has seen the number of forest fires decreasing by nearly a third. And the size of the area burnt has fallen by nearly 90%.

How did you feel about winning the LIFE Award for Climate?

We were very really happy to be shortlisted. There were so many quality LIFE projects in our category, so it was a surprise and a big deal for us to actually win it.

What’s next for the project?

Forest fires are still happening so our work continues! We have recently developed a new three-year communications plan and will continue using our promotional material. We will also go beyond forests and spread the message to rural and peri-urban areas.

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Activities of the Global Wildland Fire Network in 2021


Note: Photographic documentation of some activities is posted on the GFMC Calendar 2021 or on special web pages of the Regional Wildland Fire Networks. Thus, only a few selected illustrations are included in the summary post

26 January 2021
Online Conference of the Regional Fire Monitoring Centers / Regional Fire Management Resource Centers and Regional Network Coordinators of the Global Wildland Fire Network. Zoom meeting at local times for participants in

The conference call convened key actors of the Global Wildland Fire Network and its eight Regional Fire Monitoring Centers / Regional Fire Management Resource Centers and Regional Network Coordinators

28 January 2021
Lloyd’s Register Foundation and Gallup Policy Roundtable “Fire Risks and Safety at Work”. The online event is bringing together a select group of leaders from the International Labour Organization (ILO) and other leading global organizations and will focus on identifying policies and best international practices to address the impact of fire risks at work across the world. Findings from the Lloyd’s Register Foundation’s World Risk Poll and other innovative research will act as a catalyst for the discussion.

28 January 2021
Lloyd’s Register Foundation and Gallup Policy Roundtable “Fire Risks and Safety at Work”. The online event is bringing together a select group of leaders from the International Labour Organization (ILO) and other leading global organizations and will focus on identifying policies and best international practices to address the impact of fire risks at work across the world. Findings from the Lloyd’s Register Foundation’s World Risk Poll and other innovative research will act as a catalyst for the discussion.

10 February 2021
Follow-up online conference of the regional planning workshop “Climate Change and Landscape Fire Management in the Western Balkans” conducted by the Regional Fire Monitoring Center for Southeast Europe / South Caucasus (RFMC), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and GFMC: Launch of the project – Phase I: 2021-2027; Skopje (North Macedonia), Bern (Switzerland) and GFMC (Germany).

12 February 2021
Online consultation with the Agency for Integrated Wildfire Management (AGIF) of Portugal; Lisbon (Portugal) and GFMC (Germany).

16 February 2021
Online consultation on the development of a Draft State Strategy of a National System of Landscape Fire Management“ in support of the “Joint Working Group of the Committee on Environmental Policy and Nature Management and the Committee on Law Enforcement on the Causes of Forest Fires and their Prevention in the Future” of the Parliament of Ukraine (Verkhovna Rada) and the Working Group “Development of State Strategy on Forest Management 2035” of the Ministry of Environment Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine”, Ministry of Environment Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine”; Kyiv, Ukraine and GFMC.

18 February 2021
Online consultation between GFMC and the coordinator of the Regional Mesoamerica Wildland Fire Network (Costa Rica) in preparation of a Regional Mesoamerica Fire Management Resource Center.

18 February 2021
9th World Forum for Democracy “Can Democracy Save the Environment?” The World Forum for Democracy is a unique platform for political decision-makers and activists to debate solutions to key challenges for democracies worldwide. By identifying and analysing experimental initiatives and practices, the Forum highlights and encourages democracy innovations at the grassroots and their transfer on a systemic level in order to strengthen the foundations of democratic societies. The Forum thus contributes to the evolution of democracy towards more participatory and inclusive structures and institutions. The ninth Forum is responding to world events. Natural disasters have become a regular feature of our weather. Climate change has been a key factor in increasing the risk and extent of wildfires, severe rainstorms, floods and other “natural” disasters. How to reduce the negative impacts of wildfires on the environment and humanity? How to raise awareness on these issues among civil society? Those are some of the topics in the Forum Talk “The impact of climate change on natural disasters”; with GFMC contribution “Climate Change and its Serious Impacts on Increased Risk and Extent of Wildfires: Why Democracy should play an Increasing Role in Wildfire Disaster Risk Reduction”; Council of Europe.

19 February 2021

In order to foster knowledge on hazards and the associated preventive measures among secondary school students, an Olympiad on Natural and Technological Hazards is organized in February 2021 under the auspices of the European and Mediterranean Major Hazards Agreement (EUR-OPA) of the Council of Europe, a platform for co-operation between 25 countries of Europe and the South of the Mediterranean in the field of disaster prevention and preparedness since 1987.

10 March 2021
Online consultation on future trilateral cooperation in landscape fire management in Indonesia between France (Ministère de l’Europe et des Affaires Étrangères / Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs), Germany (GFMC / BMEL / GIZ) and Indonesia (Regional Fire Management Resource Center – South East Asia [RFMRC-SEA]); Singapore, Bogor, GFMC.

23 March 2021
International Liaison Committee (ILC) and Portugal Conference Organizing Committee for the 8th International Wildland Fire Conference (IWFC-8) in Portugal 2023. Online.

29 March2021
Online consultation on future trilateral cooperation in landscape fire management in Mongolia and Indonesia between France (Ministère de l’Europe et des Affaires Étrangères / Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs), Germany (GFMC) and Mongolia (Regional Fire Management Resource Center – Central Asia Region [RFMRC-CAR]); Ulaanbaatar, Beijing, GFMC.

15 April 2021
Online consultation on future trilateral cooperation in landscape fire management in Indonesia between France (Ministère de l’Europe et des Affaires Étrangères / Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs), Germany (GFMC) and Indonesia (Regional Fire Management Resource Center – South East Asia [RFMRC-SEA]); Singapore, Bogor, GFMC.

21 April 2021
Online session, Research Cooperation Project “Transformation of Forests to Close-to-Nature Forest Management in Ukraine: Nature-based silvicultural and fire management methods for increasing the resilience of pine stands to drought and wildfire” (RESILPINE) with fire management components:

  • Wildfire risk reduction of pine forest by enrichment with broadleaved species
  • Wildfire hazard reduction of pine forest by applying nature-based integration of prescribed burning
  • Strategic planning and treatment of fuel breaks between forests, agricultural lands and settlements

Partners:

  • Hochschule für nachhaltige Entwicklung Eberswalde (HNEE) (Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development), Fachbereich für Wald und Umwelt
  • Ukrainian National Forestry University (Lviv, Ukraine)
  • Regional Eastern Europe Fire Monitoring Center (REEFMC)
  • GFMC
  • Sponsor: German Federal Ministry for Food and Agriculture (BMEL) / German Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food (BLE). Initial project duration: May 2020 – April 2022; Eberswalde, Germany; Lviv, and Kiev, Ukraine; GFMC.

26 April 2021
Introduction of WMO and GFMC contribution to the European Geosciences Union (EGU) 2021 General Assembly at the session BG1.1 “Fire in the Earth System: Interactions with Land, Atmosphere, and Society”, based he WMO Global Atmospheric Watch (GAW) Report No. 235 (2018), led by GFMC “Vegetation Fire and Smoke Pollution Warning and Advisory System (VFSP-WAS): Concept Note and Expert Recommendations (WMO GAW Report No. 235” (PDF, 3.3 MB):

05 May 2021
Final online Conference of the project “Forest fires in Fennoscandia under changing climate and forest cover” (IBA Forest Fires). GFMC contribution “Changing landscape fire regimes in Eurasia and need for action” (J.G. Goldammer)

24-26 May 2021
First Spring Firefighter School NUBiP 2021 in Boyarka, Ukraine. Landscape fire management training for 32 trainees representing 14 State Forest Enterprises from Chernihiv Oblasts, Chief Foresters and Fire Management Engineers, representatives of protected areas Drevlianskii and Desniansko-Starogutskii Natural Reserves, officers of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (Chernobyl Emergency Brigade 11). Joint REEFMC and GFMC training; Boyarka Forest Experiment Station, Dzvinkove, Kyiv region, Ukraine.

28 May 2021
Consultation with Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Rapid Response Hub of Swiss Humanitarian Aid in Lima, Peru, on potential cooperation in landscape fire management in South America.

08 June 2021
All-Ukrainian Forum “Ukraine 30. Ecology” initiated by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. The forum is a discussion platform where representatives of the authorities of all levels, the expert community, civil society and the international community raise a number of issues that need to be addressed in environmental protection and preparedness to climate change. The “National Strategy for Landscape Fire Management” was presented jointly by Bohdan Borukhovsky (First Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine), Oleh Bondarenko (Chairperson of the Committee on Environmental Policy and Nature Management), Taras Kacha (Deputy Minister for Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine), Yuriy Bolokhovets (Head of the State Agency of Forest Resources of Ukraine), Andriy Malovany (Head of the State Ecological Inspectorate) and Sergiy Zibtsev (Head of REEFMC); supported by GFMC; Kiev, Ukraine.

17 June 2021
Ministry of Environment of Ukraine opening the public consultation on the Draft State Strategy for the National Landscape Fire Management System for 2021-2035 jointly elaborated by the Ministry and GFMC:

08 July 2021
Informative meeting on initiation of the Landscape Fire Management Programme in the Western Balkans, in following-up online conferences of the regional planning workshop “Climate Change and Landscape Fire Management in the Western Balkans” conducted by the Regional Fire Monitoring Center for Southeast Europe / South Caucasus (RFMC), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and GFMC; Skopje (North Macedonia), Bern (Switzerland), GFMC (Germany) and national focal points of Albania (Tirana), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sarajevo), Kosovo (Pristina), Montenegro (Podgorica), North Macedonia (Skopje), and Serbia (Belgrade)

21 July 2021
Webinar „Forest Fires in Southeast Asia: Policy and Research Development in Indonesia”, jointly organized by the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), Faculty of Forestry and Environment IPB University, Bogor, Indonesia, and Regional Fire Management Resource Center – South East Asia (RFMRC-SEA); Online, 14:00-16:00 Jakarta time, Indonesia. 

20-28 July 2021
Landscape fire assessment and fire management planning mission, Abkhazia, Georgia (GFMC / UNDP); Sukhum/i, Gal/i, Gagra and Tbilisi, Georgia.

12 August 2021
International ACTO / OTCA Seminar “Integrated Fire Management: Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation and Mutual Assistance for Integrated Fire Management among ACTO / OTCA Member Countries”. GFMC contribution “Transboundary Cooperation in Landscape Fire Research and Management in the Amazon Basin: Achievements and the Way Ahead” (J.G. Goldammer); Brasilia and ACTO/OTCA Member Countries.

20 August 2021
Side event “The science and policy of wildfires in the boreal biome”, part of the International Boreal Forest Research Association (IBFRA) conference “Changing Boreal Biome” (organized by the UNECE/FAO Forestry and Timber Section in collaboration with the Team of Specialists on Boreal Forests). With GFMC contribution “What are socio-economic and socio-ecological implications of wildfires occurring in the boreal zone, and how should they be addressed by policy?” (J.G. Goldammer); Online and UN Palais des Nations, Geneva, 

08-11 September 2021
90th Anniversary of the Russian Aerial Forest Fire Organization Avialesookhrana and 30th Anniversary of Cooperation between GFMC and Avialesookhrana. – including national competition “Best Forest Firefighter 2021 of the Russian Federation”, with GFMC contribution “Avialesookhrana and the Global Fire Monitoring Center (GFMC): 30 Years of Cooperation in Fire Management”; Pushkino, Sofrino Village and Mogiltsy Village, Russian Federation. 

14 September 2021
Consultation with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) about steps taken in cross-boundary cooperation in landscape fire management in the South Caucasus; online, Vienna and GFMC.

17 September 2021
8th International Convention of Environmental Laureates (ICEL) with Laureates Symposium (Workshops with winners of international environmental awards; exchange and discussions), Laureates Call (consultation and adoption of the convention) and Opening of the Convent; with joint contribution of the Regional Fire Monitoring Centers and Regional Wildland Fire Networks of Eastern Europe, South East Europe / Caucasus and South Asia and GFMC “Enhancing Governance in Landscape Fire Management: Challenges, Achievements and the Way Ahead” (Sergiy Zibtsev, Nikola Nikolov, Sundar P. Sharma and Johann G. Goldammer); Basel University, Basel, Switzerland.

28 September 2021
Ukraine National Exhibition “Lisdrevmash” (Forest – Timber processing – Technologies) – with the International Round Table “Current Problems of Prevention and Suppression of Forest Fires in View of Climate Change”, with GFMC contribution “Principles for coordinated Fire Management of Forests, Rural and Sub-urban Landscapes”; Kyiv, Ukraine.

29 September 2021
UNESCO Series of Webinars in September 2021 “Cambio climático y gestión integral de incendios” – Webinar 5 “¿Hacia dónde ir? Manejo integral del fuego” (Where to next: Integrated Fire Management), with GFMC opening presentation “El manejo integral del fuego – un desafío mundial para la UNESCO” (J.G. Goldammer). More information, including registration details and presentations of completed webinars:

04-06 October 2021
Second Firefighter School NUBiP Fall 2021 in Boyarka, Ukraine. Landscape fire management training for trainees representing State Forest Enterprises and the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. Joint REEFMC and GFMC training; Boyarka Forest Experiment Station, Dzvinkove, Kyiv region, Ukraine.

12-13 October 2021
International Aerial Fire Fighting Conference Europe 2021 (Chair: Johann G. Goldammer, GFMC), including GFMC contribution “Wildfire in the Cultural and Natural Landscapes of Central and Eastern Europe: Small-Sized, Long Duration & Extreme Impacts”; Tallinn, Estonia. 

20 October 2021
Vienna Dialogue on Climate and Security. Multilateral Dialogue Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS), with GFMC Keynote „Wildfire Crises, Environmental and Human Security: Towards creating fire-resilient landscapes and societies?” (J.G. Goldammer); Vienna, Austria.

20 October 2021
Initiation of cooperation between the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on Climate Change and Security in the South Caucasus through bilateral fire management cooperation between Armenia / Georgia and Azerbaijan / Georgia; OSCE, Vienna, Austria.

25-28 October 2021
Field excursion of Research Cooperation Project “Transformation of Forests to Close-to-Nature Forest Management in Ukraine: Nature-based silvicultural and fire management methods for increasing the resilience of pine stands to drought and wildfire” (RESILPINE) with fire management components (see GFMC Calendar 21 April 2021). Field visits of the Ukrainian partners from Regional Eastern Europe Fire Monitoring Center (REEFMC), Institute of Forestry and Landscape-Park Management, National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine (NULESU) at the former GFMC experimental areas in Nature Reserve Heidehof-Golmberg, wilderness area fire management in Jüterbog (Stiftung Naturlandschaften Brandenburg) and Forest District Baruth / Stülpe; Jüterbog, Treuenbrietzen, Teltow-Fläming County, Germany.

04 November 2021
UNFCCC COP-26 in Glasgow, thematic Side Event “Robust Actions on Integrated Forest Fire Management: Synergizing Resources in Achieving Indonesia Forestry and Other Land Use (FOLU) Net Sink 2030” (Indonesian Pavilion), chaired by the Minister for Environment and Forestry, Republic of Indonesia, with support of the Regional Fire Management Resource Center – South East Asia (RFMRC-SEA) and GFMC; Glasgow, UK.

08-10 November 2021
World Forum on Democracy – Can Save Democracy our Environment, Council of Europe. GFMC contribution to Lab 7 “Better together: Engaging communities for nature conservation and protection” on “The Global Wildland Fire Network: A contribution of civil society to build sustainable and fire-resilient societies and landscapes”; Council of Europe, Strasbourg, France.

19 November 2021
Initialization meeting of the WMO GAW Task Team on Biomass Burning / Vegetation Fire and Smoke Pollution Warning Advisory and Assessment System (VFSP-WAS); WMO, online.

22 November 2021
UN International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Flying Forest Fire Fighting Dialogue; Montreal, Canada, online.

26 November 2021 

2021 European Forum for Disaster Risk Reduction (EFDRR-21), with a GFMC-led Side Event “Strengthening Governance in Landscape Fire and Boosting Citizen’s Awareness”; Matosinhos, Portugal, online

07 December 2021
Continuation of online conferences between the Independent Fire Management Committee and the Team of Mr. Stavros Benos, mandated by the Hellenic Government to develop a plan for post-fire reconstruction of Evia Island affected by wildfires in 2021. Participation: GFMC/Epitropi, Benos Team, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Greece; ministerial focal points of the German-Greek Assembly: Development of a plan of cooperation.

22 December 2021
Online consultation with Minister for Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Hellenic Republic, Mr. Christos Stylianides, on landscape fire management; Ministry for Climate Crisis and Civil Protection of Greece, Athens, GFMC.

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GLOBAL WILDLAND FIRE NETWORK ACTIVITIES 2020

Activities of the Global Wildland Fire Network in 2020

Note: Photographic documentation of some activities is posted on the GFMC Calendar 2020 or on special web pages of the Regional Wildland Fire Networks

16-17 January 2020
GFMC / GWFN contribution to the OECD-PLACARD Workshop “Adapting to a changing climate in the management of wildfires”. The workshop aimed at identifying issues that need to be addressed to create a conducive environment for aligning wildfire actions, by public as well as private actors, and to design an effective funding architecture to boost wildfire adaptation actions, including ensuring the continued availability of financial protection against wildfire risk; to identify the added-value of international and intergovernmental cooperation on this issue, and to define priority areas where the OECD could contribute to addressing existing gaps in its work going forward. OECD Conference Centre, Paris, France

23 January 2020
Launch of a web page “Natural Hazards – Landscape Fires” as part of BeSafeNet to provide basic understanding of the fundamentals of landscape fire and how people can protect themselves and their assets from the threats of wildfires. The website is tailored for high school students (age 15-17 years):

06-07 February 2020
Regional planning workshop “Climate Change and Landscape Fire Management in the Western Balkans” conducted by the Regional Fire Monitoring Center for Southeast Europe / South Caucasus (RFMC) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), with GFMC backstopping and contribution “Climate change and landscape fire management – global and regional challenges”; Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia

20 February 2020
Meeting with the Ambassador of Greece at the Council of Europe in preparation of a High-level Consultation on Enhancing Governance in Landscape Fire Management to be held in the framework of the EUR-OPA Major Hazards Agreement and the Greek Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe; Council of Europe / Embassy of Greece, Strasbourg, France (Note: High-level consultation was cancelled due to COVID pandemic)

4-5 March 2020
Aerial Fire Fighting Conference North America 2020 (AFFNA20). With GFMC keynote address on Global Warming and Landscape Fires, in which a proposal was presented to establish a global compact for streamlining the governance of a coalition of national agencies, international organizations and the private sector with regard to interoperability, common standard operating procedures; periods and areas of asset deployment; and financial sustainability. GFMC Director presented the eulogies for the 2020 winners of the Walt Darran International Aerial Firefighting Award; Sacramento, California, U.S.A.

April 2020
GFMC support to the Regional Eastern Europe Fire Monitoring Center (REEFMC) and the OSCE to address the wildfires burning in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone of Ukraine with regards to mitigating the effects of secondary radioactive pollution on Ukraine and neighbouring countries.

14 April 2020
Online meeting between the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Regional Eastern Europe Fire Monitoring Center (REEFMC) and the GFMC concerning futures joint approaches to enhance fire management capacities in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone of Ukraine; Vienna, Austria; Kiev, Ukraine; GFMC.

22 April 2020
Online meeting between the UNEP/OCHA Joint Environment Unit / Environmental Emergencies Center), the Regional Eastern Europe Fire Monitoring Center (REEFMC) and the GFMC, concerning assessment of the fire situation in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone of Ukraine and the smoke pollution in and around Cúcuta, Republic of Colombia, and fires burning in neighbouring territories of San Antonio and Ureña, State of Táchira, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela; UN Geneva, Switzerland; Kiev, Ukraine; GFMC.

24 April 2020
Online meeting with Neusiedler See National Park (Austria) administration and Austrian scientists for evaluation the reed fires of 03-04 April 2020 and the implications for future research and fire management approaches

27 April 2020
Online meeting between the Secretariat of the EUR-OPA Major Hazards Agreement and the GFMC concerning the work programme2020; Strasbourg, France; GFMC.

01 May 2020
Start of the Research and Development Cooperation Project “Transformation of Forests to Close-to-Nature Forest Management in Ukraine: Nature-based silvicultural and fire management methods for increasing the resilience of pine stands to drought and wildfire” (RESILPINE) with fire management components:

  • Wildfire risk reduction of pine forest by enrichment with broadleaved species
  • Wildfire hazard reduction of pine forest by applying nature-based integration of prescribed burning
  • Strategic planning and treatment of fuel breaks between forests, agricultural lands and settlements

Partners:

  • Hochschule für nachhaltige Entwicklung Eberswalde (HNEE) (Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development), Fachbereich für Wald und Umwelt
  • Ukrainian National Forestry University (Lviv, Ukraine)
  • Regional Eastern Europe Fire Monitoring Center (REEFMC)
  • GFMC

Sponsor: German Federal Ministry for Food and Agriculture (BMEL) / German Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food (BLE). Initial project duration: May 2020 – April 2022; Eberswalde, Germany; Lviv, and Kiev, Ukraine; GFMC.

05 May and 13 May 2020
Follow-up online conferences of the regional planning workshop “Climate Change and Landscape Fire Management in the Western Balkans” conducted by the Regional Fire Monitoring Center for Southeast Europe / South Caucasus (RFMC), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and GFMC; Skopje (North Macedonia), Bern (Switzerland) and GFMC (Germany).

28 May 2020
Online closing conference of the project Network of European Hubs for Civil Protection and Crisis Management, with pilot hub Wildfire Risk Management (GFMC partner); Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and European partners.

11 June 2020
First meeting of the Working Group of the Committee on Environmental Policy and Nature Management and the Committee on Law Enforcement on the causes of forest fires and their prevention in the future, in the Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) of Ukraine, with WG member and participation of the head of the Regional Eastern Europe Fire Monitoring Center (REEFMC), Sergiy V. Zibtsev, and remote presentation of GFMC; Kyiv, Ukraine.

21 July 2020

Online panel discussion “Der EU-Zivilschutz in Zeiten zunehmender Waldbrandgefahr” (The European Union’s Civil Protection Mechanism in Times of Increasing Wildfire Risk), organized by Europe Direct Informationszentrum; Europe.

04 August 2020
While the COVID-19 crisis is continuing to impact Europe, consuming a majority of attention and resources, other disaster risks still remain. For an increasing area of Europe, weather conditions are contributing to a dangerous wildfire season, exacerbated by a changing risk landscape. The European Science and Technology Group (E-STAG) thematic paper on wildfire aims to explain some key factors of this evolution for understanding the risk, reducing it, and avoiding the serious consequences of wildfires that have heavily impacted Europe in recent years.

31 August 2020
GFMC inputs to the State of Brandenburg Round Table “Waldbrandbekämpfung auf Kampfmittelverdachtsflächen und geotechnischen Sperrflächen im Land Brandenburg“ (Forest Fire Fighting on Terrain contaminated by Unexploded Ordnance and on geotechnical Keepout Areas); Ministry for Interior and Communal Affairs, Brandenburg State, Potsdam, Germany.

03 September 2020
Initiation of the work of the „Working Group for the development of a Draft State Strategy of a National System of Landscape Fire Management“ in support of the “Joint Working Group of the Committee on Environmental Policy and Nature Management and the Committee on Law Enforcement on the Causes of Forest Fires and their Prevention in the Future” of the Parliament of Ukraine (Verkhovna Rada) and the Working Group “Development of State Strategy on Forest Management 2035″ of the Ministry of Environment Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine”.

13-October 2020
International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction (IDDRR 2020): IDDRR began in 1989, after a call by the United Nations General Assembly for a day to promote a global culture of risk-awareness and disaster reduction. Held every 13 October, the day celebrates how people and communities around the world are reducing their exposure to disasters and raising awareness about the importance of reining in the risks that they face. The 2019 edition continues as part of the “Sendai Seven” campaign, centred on the seven targets of the Sendai Framework. This year will focus on Target (d) of the Sendai Framework, reduce disaster damage to critical infrastructure and disruption of basic services. The GFMC addresses IDDRR the theme of wildfire prevention in the frame of the Council of Europe’s Major Hazard Agreement (EUR-OPA):

19-20 October 2020
2020 OSCE Economic and Environmental Dimension Implementation Meeting (EEDIM) on “Disaster Risk Management and Prevention: Opportunities for strengthening dialogue and co-operation”. With GFMC contribution on “Perspectives on Implications of Wildfire Risk across the OSCE Area for Security and Sustainability: Opportunities for Co-operation”; Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Hofburg, Vienna, Austria.

26-27 October 2020
Final Workshop of FORCLIME II – Fire Management “Debriefing on the Results and Lessons Learned. FORCLIME works in four pilot districts in West, East and North Kalimantan as well as in the Lore Lindu region in Central Sulawesi. The Programme supports and advises the Indonesian Government in the formulation of yet missing (legal, institutional) requirements for sustainable forest management and their implementation mostly through FMUs. As part of the Programme, the German consultants ECO Consult together with its Munich-based partner RSS (Remote Sensing Solutions GmbH) and supported by the Global Fire Monitoring Center (GFMC), have assisted FORCLIME since 2017 specifically in the fields of burnt area mapping and forest and land fire prevention. The component called “FORCLIME II – Fire Management” had a duration of 28.5 months until the end of October 2020 and was implemented in the selected pilot FMU KPH Kubu Raya in West Kalimantan Province; with GFMC contribution “The global fire situation and challenges on managing fire under conditions of climate change, the increasing vulnerability of natural landscapes and society – including threats by Covid-19 pandemic”; Pontianak, Indonesia.

04 November 2020
Joint Meeting of the Committee of Permanent Correspondents and Directors of Specialised Centers, European and Mediterranean Major Hazards Agreement (Open Partial Agreement on the Prevention of, Protection Against, and Organization of Relief in Major Natural and Technological Disasters – EUR-OPA), Council of Europe; with GFMC contribution “Project Results 2017-20 and Plans for 2021”; Council of Europe, Strasbourg, France, and Online.

05-06 November 2020
Landscape Fire Management Training for Protected Areas personnel in Mongolia in the frame of the bilateral cooperation project between the Ministry of Environment and Tourism of Mongolia (MET) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) „Supporting Protected Areas for the Conservation of Ecosystem Services (SPACES)”. Online training by the Global Fire Monitoring Center (GFMC) and the Fire Management Resource Center – Central Asia Region (FMRC – CAR); Online and in the field in Ulaanbaatar / Batsumber soum, Tuv Province, Mongolia.

12 November 2020
Consultations with U.S. Army, Federal German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr), Federal German Forest Service and GFMC on fire management planning on military training ranges in Germany.

13 November 2020
FIRE-IN – Fire and Rescue Innovation Network, a project conducted in the frame of the EU Horizon 2020 Work Programme 2016-2017 Secured societies – Protecting freedom and security of Europe and its citizens (SEC-21-GM-2016-2017 – Pan-European Networks of Practitioners and other Actors in the Field of Security): Webinar of TWG E “Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives”  with GFMC contribution on (a) Review / summary of the occurrence and problems arising from wildfires in ChEZ, including the situation in April 2020; (b) state of development in specific methods and technologies for fire management on radioactively contaminated terrain; (c) cross-boundary cooperation between Ukraine and Belarus in fire management across borders; and (d) situation in 2020: Advisory to civil society of Ukraine concerning the multiple threats by (radioactive) fire emissions and the COVID-19 pandemic

17-18 November 2020
International Liaison Committee (ILC) and Portugal Conference Organizing Committee for the 8th International Wildland Fire Conference (IWFC-8) in Portugal 2023.

25 November 2020
Consultation to initiate the forming of the National Committee for Integral Fire Management of Ecuador (Comité Nacional de Manejo Integral del Fuego el Ecuador – CONAMIF) – a key activity of the trilateral project between Ecuador, Brazil and Costa Rica (2019-2021), with the support of GFMC “Strengthening Technical and Institutional Capacities in Ecuador in Integrated Fire Management in Conservation Areas” (Cooperación Trilateral Ecuador – Brasil – Costa Rica – Alemania: “Fortalecimiento de las Capacidades Técnicas e Institucionales en el Ecuador para el Manejo Integral del Fuego en Áreas de Conservación”); Ministerio del Ambiente y Agua del Ecuador (MAAE), GFMC, Quito (Ecuador) and Quito (Ecuador) / Online.

26-27 November 2020
First Congress on Fire Prevention and Land Management in Environments Bordering the Natura 2000 Network (I Congreso para la prevención de incendios y gestión del territorio en entornos rayanos de la Red Natura 2000), with GFMC contribution “Cross-boundary Cooperation in Landscape Fire Management: From Local to Global”; Fundación Naturaleza y Hombre, Spain and Portugal, online.

01 December 2020
National Round Table on the Future of Landscape Fire Management in Ukraine, facilitated by the Working Group for the development of a Draft State Strategy of a National System of Landscape Fire Management“ in support of the “Joint Working Group of the Committee on Environmental Policy and Nature Management and the Committee on Law Enforcement on the Causes of Forest Fires and their Prevention in the Future” of the Parliament of Ukraine (Verkhovna Rada) and the Working Group “Development of State Strategy on Forest Management 2035″ of the Ministry of Environment Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine”, Ministry of Environment Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine”, Kyiv, Ukraine / Online.

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Network Coordination

, ,
A Region of the Global Wildland Fire Network

Mr. Sundar P. Sharma
Under Secretary (Tech.)
National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA)
Babarmahl, Kathmandu
Nepal

Cell: +977-9841311069
e-mail: sharmasp1966(at)yahoo.com
Skype: sundar-gfmc
http://bipad.gov.np/np

Mr. Kinley Tshering
Chief Forestry Officer
Forest Protection and Enforcement Division
Department of Forests and Park Services
Ministry of Agriculture and Forests
Royal Government of Bhutan
Thimphu
Bhutan

Cell: +97517113866
Fax: +975 2 322836
e-mail: kinleytshering(at)gmail.com

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REGIONAL EURASIAN WILDLAND FIRE NETWORK

Ukraine VIII International Fire Management Week 2019

Boyarka / Oster / Kyiv, Ukraine
5-9 April 2019

The 8th Ukraine International Fire Management Week was held in between 5 and 9 April 2019, organized by the Regional Eastern European Fire Monitoring Center (REEFMC) and the Global Fire Monitoring Center (GFMC). On 5 April 2019 a fire management training course was held for foresters and fire brigade personnel:

On 8 April 2019 the GFMC and REEFMC conducted  field training exercising prescribed burning operations and suppression firing in Oster Military Forest District, Ukraine.

Opening of the Fire Management Training Course in Oster Military Forest District, 08 April 2019. From left to right: Volodymyr Brayko (Director of Oster Military Forest District), Sergiy V. Zibtsev (Head of REEFMC) and Johann Georg Goldammer (GFMC)

Sergiy Zibtsev and J.G. Goldammer addressing the classroom training participants

Classroom training participants

The REEFMC preparatory team: Dr. Vasyl Gumeniuk and Maxim Zibtsev and the Oster Military Forest District Fire Management Team

Start of an exercise backfire (suppression fire) and handing over the drip torch to the course participants

Debriefing and farewell photo of the training session. In 2020, Mr. Volodymyr Brayko, Director of Oster Military Forest District, and his team won “Silver” in the competition of the Society of Foresters of Ukraine for the best fire activity of the state enterprise for 2020 («СРІБНІ» ПОЖЕЖНИКИ, PDF).

On the next day – 9 April 2019 – the Second National Round Table “Fires in the Natural and Cultural Landscapes of Ukraine: Developing a National Policy for the Wildfires Management” provided the floor for a consultation on the draft Law of Ukraine On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Concerning the Immediate Elimination of the Crisis Situation Due to Forest Fires. The Round Table was an initiative of and hosted by the Regional Eastern Europe Fire Monitoring Center with the support of the Global Fire Monitoring Center (GFMC) and the Council of Europe (Kyiv, REEFMC / National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine (NULESU), Ukraine.

The Round Table was opened by the Rector of NULESU, Prof. Dr. Stanislav Nikolaenko, and by Prof. Dr. Petro Lakyda, Director of the Institute of Forestry and Landscape-Park Management (right). Workshop conveners (Prof. Dr. Sergiy V. Zibtsev and Prof. Dr. Johann Georg Goldammer) at the left.

 

Participants of the Round Table from different Ukrainian agencies, the Parliament, forestry enterprises and academia.

 

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Global Wildland Fire Network Activities 2019

Activities of the Global Wildland Fire Network in 2019

Note: Photographic documentation of some activities is posted on the GFMC Calendar 2019 or on special web pages of the Regional Wildland Fire Networks

28-30 January 2019
Second Workshop of the Thematic Working Group Vegetation (Landscape) Fire Crisis Mitigation (TWG-C) of the project FIRE-IN – Fire and Rescue Innovation Network, a project conducted in the frame of the EU Horizon 2020 Work Programme 2016-2017 Secured Societies – Protecting Freedom and Security of Europe and its Citizens (SEC-21-GM-2016-2017 – Pan-European Networks of Practitioners and other Actors in the Field of Security), chaired by GFMC; Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Officiers de Sapeurs-Pompiers, Aix-en-Provence, France.

31 January 2019
Internal kickoff meeting of the implementation of the project “Network of European hubs for civil protection and crisis management”, with pilot hub “Wildfire Risk Management” (GFMC partner); Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Officiers de Sapeurs-Pompiers, Aix-en-Provence, France.

07-08 February 2019
Submission of the Report of the Committee on the Future of Landscape Fire Management and Wildfire Risk Reduction in Greece (GFMC Chair) to the Prime Minister of Greece, Mr. Alexis Tsipras, and the President of the Hellenic Parliament, Mr. Nikolaos Voutsis, and the leaders of the Parliamentary Commissions leaders (Mrs. Aikaterini Igglezi, MP and Chair of the Special Standing Committee on the Protection of the Environment; Mrs. Chara Kafantari, MP and Chair of the Standing Committee on Production and Commerce; Mr. Mr Antonios Syrigos, MP and Chair of the Standing Committee on Public Administration, Public Order and Justice); Briefing of the President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Prokopis Pavlopoulos; Press Conference and meeting with Members of the Hellenic Parliament; Maximos Mansion, Hellenic Parliament, Presidential Mansion (Proedrikό Mégaro), Athens, Greece.

23 February–03 March and 25-29 September2019
Field mission addressing fire management and policy development in Madagascar in the frame of the project “Projet d’appui pour le renforcement des capacités en économie de la gestion durable et de la dégradation des terres”, a cooperative project between the Laboratoire Terres Paysages et Développement (LLandDev) du Département des Eaux et Forêts, Ecole Supérieure des Sciences Agronomiques (ESSA-Forêts), the German Development Corporation GIZ and the SV BoDeN Initiative “ELD et ProSol“; Antananarivo, Ankarafantsika (Tanà + Boeny), Madagascar.

10 March 2019
Visit of the Minister for Environment and Tourism, Members of the Parliament of Mongolia and the Director General of the MET Department of Forest Policy and Coordination and Director of the Regional Fire Management Resource Center – Central Asia Region (RFMR-CAR), Dr. Oyunsanaa Byambasuren, in Germany, with briefing and consultations on cooperation between GFMC and RFMR-CAR/MET; Frankfurt, Germany.

19-21 March 2019
Aerial Firefighting Conference Europe 2019, with GFMC / IFAWG contribution; Nimes, France

08 April 2019
Prescribed burning operations and suppression firing training in Oster Military Forest District conducted by GFMC; Oster Forest District, Ukraine.

09 April 2019
Second National Round Table “Fires in the Natural and Cultural Landscapes of Ukraine: Developing a National Policy for the Wildfires Management”: Consultation on the draft Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Concerning the Immediate Elimination of the Crisis Situation Due to Forest Fires”, and initiative of the Regional Eastern Europe Fire Monitoring Center with the support of the Global Fire Monitoring Center (GFMC) and the Council of Europe; Kyiv, REEFMC / National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine (NULESU), Ukraine.

14-17 April and 15-17 July 2019
Follow-up activities of the project “Enhancing National Capacity on Fire Management and Wildfire Disaster Risk Reduction in the South Caucasus”; Georgia.

13-17 May 2019
UNISDR Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR) 2019, with GFMC participation (J.G. Goldammer) representing the Global Wildland Fire Network (GWFN) and the Regional Fire Management Resource Centers; UN Geneva, Switzerland

20-21 June 2019
International Seminar on Planning and Prevention of Landscape Fires and the Role of Landscape Restoration, organized by the Corporación Nacional Forestal (CONAF) and the World Resources Institute (WRI) under the Initiative 20×20, sponsored by the German Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, with GFMC GFMC opening keynote address “Landscape fires in the new landscape global scenario. Vision of the Global Fire Monitoring Center“; Santiago de Chile, Chile.

25-26 June 2019
Consultation Workshop on the development of a concept for a European Hub for Civil Protection and Crisis Management in the frame of the implementation of the project Network of European Hubs for Civil Protection and Crisis Management, with pilot hub Wildfire Risk Management (GFMC partner); Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

01-05 July 2019
Toxic Industrial Material Reconnaissance & Assessment Course (TIMRAC) 2019 under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), with GFMC Contribution on “Wildfire Hazards Resulting from Collateral Damages of Armed Conflicts and Post-Conflict Threats by Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) and Land Mines”; Vienna, Austria.

01-04 July 2019
GFMC support for wildfire assessment and incident management on the former Luebtheen military exercise area and weapons depot, with heavy explosions threatening the safety of local populations and firefighters. Deployment of the armoured firefighting system developed by DiBuKa and GFMC; Luebtheen, Germany.

24-28 August 2019
All-Russian conference with international participation, dedicated to 75th anniversary of V. N. Sukachev Institute of Forest SB RAS “Forest Ecosystems of Boreal Zone: Biodiversity, Bioeconomy, Ecological Risks”, with GFMC contribution “Evaluation of achievements in nature-based fire management and development of future cooperative approaches at the science-policy interface in Siberia and adjoining regions of Central Asia”; Sukachev Institute of Forest, Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation.

27 August 2019
Round Table “Evaluation of achievements in nature-based fire management and development of future cooperative approaches at the science-policy interface in Siberia and adjoining regions of Central Asia”; Sukachev Institute of Forest, Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation.

27 August 2019
Opening of the Regional Eurasia Fire Monitoring Center (REFMC) und the auspices of the Global Fire Monitoring Center (GFMC) and the Global Wildland Fire Network, with support of the Council of Europe (EUR-OPA Major Hazards Agreement); Sukachev Institute of Forest, Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation.

10 September 2019
2nd International Conference on Tropical Silviculture (ICTS 2019), with GFMC/GWFN contribution “Revisit of the “Freiburg Declaration on Tropical Fires” of 1989: The Initiation of an International Agenda in Global Landscape Fire Science and Fire Management”; Bogor Agricultural University (IPB), Bogor, West Java, Indonesia.

11 September 2019
Ceremony of handing over the Global Landscape Fire Award 2019, sponsored by the Global Wildland Fire Network to the laureate Dr. Ir. Siti Nurbaya, MSc, Minister for Environment and Forestry, Republic of Indonesia, and Certificates of Distinction for Prof. Dr. Ir. Bambang Hero Saharjo, M.Agr., Bogor Agricultural University (IPB), and Dr. Ir. Raffles Brotestes Panjaitan, MSc, Director of Forest and Land Fire Management, Directorate General of Climate Change, Ministry for Environment and Forestry, Republic of Indonesia; Jakarta, Indonesia.

17 September 2019
Meeting with Executive Director of the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), Dr. Gerhard Dieterle, with GFMC, concerning coordinated response to the fire situation in South America and the opportunities in implementing the Declaration of Viña del Mar 2017 on Cross-Boundary Cooperation in Fire Management in South America and other joint activities; GFMC.

10-12 October 2019
Implementation of the Fire Management Support Component for Georgia in the frame of the regional programme Integrated Biodiversity Management in the South Caucasus (IBiS) (GIZ): Training course for fire management personnel in Kvareli and finalization of fire management plan for Dedoplistskaro Municipality, Kakheti region; Kvareli and Dedoplistskaro, Georgia.

22 October 2019
Meeting of the Technical Working Group on Sendai Hazard Definitions and Classification, co-facilitated by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the International Science Council (ISC), tasked with developing new hazard definitions and classifications; WMO, Geneva, Switzerland.

25 October 2019
German Parliament (Bundestag) thematic conference “Impacts of Climate Change on Landscape Fires: Challenges and Solutions for Germany and the European Union” (Fachkonferenz „Auswirkungen des Klimawandels auf Landschaftsbrände – Herausforderungen und Lösungsansätze für Deutschland und die EU“), organized by the Parliamentary Party The Liberals (Freie Demokratische Partei – FDP) in cooperation with GFMC; Deutscher Bundestag, Europe Hall / Europa-Saal, Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany.

28 October – 01 November 2019
Seventh International Wildland Fire Conference (IWFC 7); Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Websites and post-conference activities

13-14 November 2019
Meeting of the CTIF Forest Fires Commission of the International Association of Fire and Rescue Services (Comité Technique International de Prevention et d’Extinction de Feu – CTIF). Theme: Operational organization in the field in very large forest Fires. How to prepare for “The big One”?, with GFMC contributions Landscape fires in Germany 2018-2019: Small size, long duration, extreme impacts and challenges and Global Landscape Fires in 2019: Ridge Walk between Reality, Media Hype and Political-Public Response; Sintra, National Firefighter School, Portugal.

14 November 2019
Planning meeting for the 8th International Wildland Fire Conference; Lisbon, Portugal.

13 December 2019
Meeting of the Committee on Environmental Policy and Environmental Management of the Parliament of Ukraine (Verkhovna Rada) at Boyarka Forest Research Station, with a visit of the members of the Parliament at an exposition of the Regional Eastern Europe Fire Monitoring Center (REEFMC). During the meeting the draft Law of Ukraine on Improvement of Fire Management in the Cultural and Natural Landscapes, developed with the support of the Council of Europe (EUR-OPA) and the GFMC, and the plans to establish a Fire Research and Training Center in Boyarka Station was presented to parliament members. It was agreed that the Law need to be presented for Parliament for implementation and to prepare a meeting of the Committee devoted to address landscape fires with representatives of REEFMC.

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