Greece

Inthe last years, forest fires affecting the Wildland-Urban Interface and RuralAreas (W-UI/RA) have populated news front-pages around the world, as one of themost dramatic natural events in which human lives and properties are threatenedand destroyed. Several recent examples in USA, Australia, Asia and Europe havetrespassed the circle of fire managers, specialists and scientist, touchingdirectly public sensibility as a matter of main preoccupation. 
Fires in the W-UI/RA have been studied and characterised in the USA, Canada andAustralia, among other countries, for decades. Looking at this experience, anumber of co-funded research projects are now focusing into the reality ofW-UI/RA fire management in Europe. Within the scope of one of these projects,entitled WARM (Wildland-Urban Area Fire Risk Management), the current event isorganised as follow-up of the first workshop on W-UI/RA user needs held inMarseille (France) in June 2002.

Workshoporganiser
The Workshop is organised by the Instituteof Mediterranean Forest Ecosystems and Forest Products Technology of theNational Agricultural Research Foundation of Greece, in co-operation with TecnomaS.A., Madrid, Spain, and AlgosystemsS.A., Athens, Greece, within the framework of the WARM (Wildland-Urban AreaFire Risk Management) research project. WARM (www.euwarm.org)is a project co-funded by the Directorate General for Research of the EuropeanCommission, co-ordinated by Tecnoma S.A.

Aimof the Workshop
The objective of the Workshop is to give the opportunity to various researchgroups and operational managers of the European countries, to meet and exchangepoints of view and research findings concerning the fire problems encountered inareas where forest and rural areas intermix, creating the so-calledWildland-Urban interfaces (WUI) which have become quite extensive in the lastdecades. More specifically the Workshop aims to:

1. Document the extent and characteristics of the problems in various European countries.
2. Develop a clear picture of current planning conditions and practices in the W-UI/RA, the problems encountered, and the actors involved.
3. Identify similar types of W-UI/RA areas, where common planning and fire management practices can be effectively applied
4. Identify and/or propose methods, models and planning techniques for managing W-UI/RA areas and for fighting fires there.
5. Identify social trends and approaches as related to W-UI/RA areas problems creation and to acceptance of management interventions.

Participation– Call for papers
The Workshop is open to researchers, land managers, fire fighting specialistsand other experts who are involved in research or operations related to forestfires management and to the management of W-UI/RA areas. Interested non-Europeannationals are also welcome.
Written contributions on topics that will contribute towards achieving the aimsof the Workshop are welcome for either 20-minute oral or poster presentation.The contributions will be evaluated by the Scientific Committee of the Workshopon the basis of an abstract written in English (maximum two A4 pages, includingfigures). The abstract must be submitted by mail, fax or e-mail to the seminarsecretariat; electronic submission is preferred, in Word format (*.doc) or inRich Text Format (*.rtf).

Avolume of proceedings will be produced that will include both the oral andposter contributions that will be handed-in on time. Directions on the length,style, format, etc. will be provided together with the notification about theevaluation of the Scientific Committee. The proceedings will also include theconclusions of the round tables that will be held during the Workshop.

Significantdates

·        Abstract Submission deadline: December30th, 2002

·        Authors notified: January 31st, 2003

·        Preliminary Programme: February 28th, 2003

·        Final Programme: May 6th, 2003

·        Workshop dates: May 15 and 16th,2003

·        Paper submission, final form for the proceedings deadline:May 30th, 2003   

Details
The Workshop will be held at the Auditorium of the Institute, in Athens. TheInstitute, originally known as the “Forest Research Institute of Athens”, isone of the oldest research Institutes in Greece. It is located in a park-likestand of pine trees, in the area of Ilisia, not far from the centre of Athens.Many hotels and convenient transportation are available in the vicinity. 
The official language of the Workshop is English. All papers should be submittedand presented in English. Simultaneous translation in Greek will be availableduring the Workshop sessions 
Participants are requested to register in advance due to the limited number ofplaces, following one of the available procedures. Participation forms and otherinformation about the workshop will be made available soon on the web site ofthe project (www.euwarm.org)Alternatively the forms may be requested from the Workshop secretariat:

Mrs. Maria Vlachou
Institute of Mediterranean Forest Ecosystems and Forest Products Technology
Forest Fire Laboratory
Terma Alkmanos, 11528, Ilisia, 
Athens, Greece

Phone: ++3 010 7793142
Fax:     ++3 010 7784602

e-mail: mvlachou@fria.gr

Questionsfor clarifications may be addressed to the Organising Committee Chairman, Dr.Gavriil Xanthopoulos, at gxnrtc@fria.gr.

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