Preventing and controlling wildfires in the Mediterranean

From 24 to 27 October 2022, a joint workshop was held in Antalya, Türkiye, on “Developing, adopting and transferring innovative solutions and actions to prevent and control wildfires.” This was organized by the General Directorate of Forestry (OGM) of Türkiye, FOREST EUROPE and the Silva Mediterranea Working Group on Forest Fires (WG 1).  

The workshop brought together more than 60 partners from both technical, governmental and policy backgrounds from all over the Mediterranean Basin. During the first day, a Silva Mediterranea session took place with the following themes: 

• Capitalizing on good practices for post-fire efforts in 2023 and risk analysis in the context of climate change. The main idea for this brainstorming session was to create a road map to better link post-fire restoration with fire management, and consider it as part of the same cycle of prevention, preparedness, response and restoration. Next steps include the collection of good practices in fire restoration, prevention and suppression, and the development of e-learning modules to improve skills and hold in-person capacity-building workshops. It was also agreed that WG 1 would explore options for resource mobilization with different funding institutions. 
• Regional statement. A document is being developed based on ten key factors, five priority lines and 28 actions, through a consultative process, involving the Regional Mediterranean Wildland Fire Network (Silva Mediterranea – WG 1), including Mediterranean, Near East and North African countries, the Subregional Euro-Alpine Wildland Fire Network and the European Union. The document structure still needs to be determined, given that the anthropogenic factor plays a key role in wildfire management in the Mediterranean. 
• Position paper on wildfire prevention. This position paper was published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 2011, jointly with 14 contributing organizations. Its objective was to summarize the recommendations from wildfire experts exchanged at previous conferences and workshops from 2007 to 2010. These recommendations were grouped into five topics, with several proposed actions targeting policymakers, forest and land managers, researchers and educational specialists. In 2021, on the ten-year anniversary of the publication, the Spanish Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) and the European Forest Institute (EFI) decided to update this position paper, with support from the Barcelona Provincial Council. From January to April, the survey “Ten years of wildfire prevention in the Mediterranean,” co-developed by MITECO and EFI, was launched on behalf of WG 1 to collect and identify the main topics of interest for setting the basis for the updated position paper. This exercise was initiated during a side event at the Seventh Mediterranean Forest Week. Throughout the session, recommendations were discussed individually, and a new survey format was proposed to continue the data collection, but emphasizing possible actions. One of the main outcomes of this updating process is the identification of a new recommendation based on risk governance. Analysis of survey results will continue until the end of the year. 

Both the regional statement and the position paper will be presented at the Eighth International Wildfire Conference in Porto, Portugal, on 16–19 May 2023. 

On the second day, the group visited the area that burned during the largest wildfire to date in Türkiye (2008). The site is now under recovery, diverse approaches having been applied combining natural regeneration, seeding and planting of seedlings, depending on the local conditions. 

The rest of the workshop was dedicated to exchanging experiences at the national level, reflecting on different aspects of fire management (prevention, adaptation, post-fire restoration and governance) and discussing the latest technological developments and innovative approaches that could be useful for the countries in the region. Finally, the last session focused on regional and international cooperation with a view to strengthening coordination and building capacity at different stages of the wildfire cycle. 

Elena Hernández (Spanish Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge), Irene Núñez (Tragsa), Carolina Gallo Granizo (FAO) and Giovanbattista de Dato (FAO)