GFMC COOPERATION WITH FOREST EUROPE
Ministerial Conferences on the Protection of Forests in Europe – FOREST EUROPE
Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe and GFMC
The predecessor institution of GFMC, the Fire Ecology Research Group at Freiburg University, which worked with FAO/ECE/ILO Committee on Forest Technology, Management and Training on the UNECE Forest Fire Statistics and served as editor of UNECE/FAO International Forest Fire News (IFFN) since 1989 (and since 1993 as Leader of the UNECE/FAO Team of Specialists on Forest Fire), started cooperation with FOREST EUROPE in 1990.
- FOREST EUROPE website: https://foresteurope.org/
First Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (Strasbourg, France, 1990)
The First Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe took place in Strasbourg/France in December 1990. Under the impression of increasing threats to European forests, the participants of the Conference recognized the need for cross-border protection and agreed on a General Declaration and six Resolutions. These Strasbourg Resolutions initiated a broad scientific and technical co-operation throughout Europe. Moreover, the Strasbourg Conference was a major step in initiating the incorporation of scientific data into political action for the protection of European Forests. One of the six resolutions addressed the establishment of a Decentralized European Data Bank on Forest Fires:
Fifth Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (Warsaw, Poland, 2007)
- Ministerial Statement on Forest Fires (PDF, 57 KB)
- Europe’s Forests 2007 (PDF, 18 MB)
- Europe’s Forests 2007 – Summary (PDF, 3 MB)
Pan-European Forest Risk Knowledge Mechanism (FoRISK) (2022)
In the context of the development of the pan-European Forest Risk Knowledge Mechanism (FoRISK) the 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; 24-27 October 2022, 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 and Antalya workshop online:
- FOREST EUROPE website
- FOREST EUROPE at GFMC website
- Antalya workshop website
- Call for attendance and draft agenda (PDF, 02 MB)
- Agenda of Joint Sessions (PDF, 0.7 MB)
The Antalya Workshop Group. Photos: Orman Genel Müdürlügü (OGM)
FOREST EUROPE to support Ukraine in rebuilding its forest sector (2022-2023)
On 30 August 2022, a Ministerial Decision was adopted by the 44 Member States of FOREST EUROPE at the first High-Level Policy Dialogue (HLPD), an inclusive dialogue among interested actors to exchange on the latest scientific findings, best practices, and specific national policies.
- FOREST EUROPE HLPD website
- Ministerial Decision (30 August 2022)
- First FOREST EUROPE Ukraine Meeting (7 December 2022)
On 01 March 2023, the capacity building and knowledge exchange workshop “Ukraine forest fires prevention in times of war” was organized by FOREST EUROPE and supported by GFMC and REEFMC:
Presentations of GFMC and REEFMC addressed collateral damages of the war resulting in extended wildfires. Preparation of the fire season starting spring 2023 were presented.
