H2020 FIRE-RES Project: Innovative technologies and socio-ecological-economic solutions for fire-resilient territories in Europe.

Extreme wildfires (EWE) are becoming a major environmental, economic, and social threat in Southern Europe and are gaining increasing importance in other parts of Europe. As the limits of fire suppression-focused strategies become apparent, practitioners, researchers, and policymakers increasingly recognize the need to develop novel approaches that shift emphasis toward the root causes and impacts of EWE, moving toward preventative landscape and community management for greater resilience. FIRE-RES integrates existing spheres of wildfire-related research, technology, civil protection, policy, and governance to innovate processes, methods, and tools to effectively promote the implementation of a more holistic fire management approach and support the transition toward landscapes and communities more resilient to EWE.

To achieve this, FIRE-RES will first generate new knowledge on integrated sustainable fire management models that will help define what types of potential future scenarios (including climate change and general policies) should be promoted in EU territories.

Secondly, it will identify and demonstrate technological, social, health/safety, administrative, ecological, and economic innovations to define how and through what possible pathways future scenarios can be achieved in the EU. These innovations will be implemented in different regional contexts and scaled up at national and EU levels using an open innovation hub, promoting capacity building and brokering partnerships between public and private actors.

Third, it will increase societal awareness and engagement in wildfire risk prevention, preparedness, and response by leveraging existing national and transboundary networks at supranational levels. FIRE-RES is a transdisciplinary, multi-stakeholder consortium comprised of researchers, wildfire agencies, technology companies, industry, and civil society from 13 countries, linked to broader networks in disaster reduction science and management.