Programme

Resilient landscapes to face catastrophic forest fires

Resilient landscapes to face catastrophic forest fires addresses a new holistic paradigm for managing forest fire risk based on the creation of resilient landscapes that more effectively integrate the social and economic conditions of the landscape in fire prevention approaches. In this vein, the conference will analyse experiences and cases from five continents, identifying lessons learned and knowledge gaps, and discussing the way forward. The conference will directly address the following questions:

  • What are the components of a forest fire resilient landscape?
  • What political and technical actions are needed to create resilient landscapes?
  • How and by how much can public agencies reduce their increasing expenditure on suppression?
  • How can we effectively address the socioeconomic factors that accelerate and exacerbate the risk of catastrophic forest fires?
  • What opportunities are there to incentivise private owners and land managers to develop collaborative fire risk mitigation strategies?

 

Former Prime Minister of Spain Felipe González and former Prime Minister of Finland Esko Aho will open the event with a dialogue on the role of rural areas and the bioeconomy and what is needed to move towards a resilient and sustainable Europe. Keynote speakers include David E. Calkin, from the Rocky Mountain Research Station in the United States, and Peter F. Moore from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, who will provide a global perspective for the growing threat, and urgent need for effective, landscape-level prevention of catastrophic fires.

 

 

Presentations, case studies, panel discussion and open debate will explore how leading scientific research on the socioeconomic dimensions of wildfire prevention can be translated into potential actions for a clear path forward to co-construct fire resilient landscapes in the Mediterranean and beyond.

 

Programme in English (PDF)

Programme in Spanish (PDF)

 

You can also preview the presentations related to the visit that will be organised on the last day of the event, 15 October, to the Forestry Research Centre (CIFOR) of the National Institute of Agrifood Research of Spain, where a group of conference attendees will learn more about its Forest Fire Lab.