“The main objective of the project is to create a European wildfire expert knowledge-sharing network focused on fire risk analysis (or assessment) and risk reduction”

Wildfires as a global problem

Wildfires are a global problem impacting on societies and the natural environment across Europe. During the last 10 years, the wildfire situation has been worsening: unprecedented changes to the wildfire environmental fire regimes, and fire behaviour has led to levels of uncertainty within responding agencies. Significant fire events across Europe have resulted in a catastrophic impact on life, property and the natural environment, e.g. Portugal 2017, Greece 2018, Spain 2019 in Southern Europe and Sweden 2018, Germany 2019, UK 2019 in Central and Northern Europe. Scientific evidence suggests that the risk of wildfire is increasing across Europe and climate change is escalating the situation. Even those countries that have not considered wildfire as a real threat to their societies and environment in the past will be required to develop more effective response to wildfire firefighting. The current situation requires adapting the European response capacities to the new wildfire situation.

The AFAN project

The AFAN (Advanced Fire Analysis Network) project, co-funded by the EU Civil Protection, aims to create a European wildfire expert knowledge-sharing network focused on fire risk analysis (or assessment) and risk reduction. The initiative has the sub-objective to scale up existing regional and national and international knowledge and capacities, transfer them with the mission of shared mutual learning and create the basis of an operational network based on trust and support to generate an overall improvement of the European wildfire emergency response capacities and coordination. The project is coordinated by the Pau Costa Foundation and brings together 5 partners: the Catalan Fire and Rescue Service, D.R.E.AM. Italia, ENSOSP, ENTENTE of VALABRE and the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service (click here for further details of the partners).

During the KO meeting of the AFAN project on the 25th-26th January 2021, each partner has presented the tasks that will be carried out during the project in order to achieve its expected outcomes: (1) collect, share, review and apply good practices, recommendations, and lessons in mitigation, prevention, preparedness and response during exercises and real-time emergencies, (2) develope and share expertise in Civil Protection and risk disaster management, (3) strengthen and expand existing structures of relevant civil protection and disaster risk management actors and (4) establish new partnerships.

We strongly encourage all interested stakeholders to stay tunned through the Twitter account of the project: https://twitter.com/AfanUcpm . News and updates coming soon!