Knowledge and
Applied Science
We facilitate projects that integrate the entire spectrum of wildfires: research, emergency services and society.
FIRE-ADAPT
The FIRE-ADAPT project wants to quantify, monitor and evaluate the impact of Integrated Fire Management (IFM) on carbon dynamics, biodiversity and cultural ecosystem services in different tropical and subtropical regions with altered fire regimes. All this is to improve knowledge about the role that the comprehensive use of fire plays in the prevention of large forest fires and ecosystem and cultural services.
Period: 2023-2026
Funding: MSCA Staff Exchanges 2021 Program
Coordination: Pau Costa Foundation
Web page: fireadapt.eu
The first in-person meeting of the FIRE-ADAPT consortium took place in the study hub of Spain between April and May 2023. This first meeting served to define the steps to follow in the different work areas, learn about local Integrated Fire Management and its impacts, and exchange knowledge and practices with other European projects.
From here, progress has been made in the development of the themes of the different work packages and the second study hub was organized in Mexico to give a boost to the specialized areas (work packages) of FIRE-ADAPT and research on global perspectives of comprehensive fire management and the effects of fire on carbon dynamics and the adaptations of various types of plants. Additionally, participants learned about fire management at the national level in Mexico thanks to a TREX (Prescribed Fire Training Exchange) that took place in Ixtlán de Juárez.
The next study hubs of the project in Brazil, France, Argentina and Italy will be carried out during the last three years of FIRE-ADAPT.
Other projects, seminars and conferences
MedEWSa
Period: 2023-2026
Founding: Horizon Europe Program
Coordination: World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
Web page: medewsa.eu
With a consortium of 30 partners, MedEWSa is an innovative initiative to predict and warn about natural risks in Europe, the Mediterranean and Africa. The objective of the project is to develop a multi-risk early warning system to improve the response to natural disasters aggravated by climate change. This system will allow dangers to be accurately predicted and will help emergency services to act quickly in vulnerable areas. MedEWSa responds to the UN call to protect the entire world from extreme climate events in the next five years.
ResAlliance
Period: 2022-2025
Funding: Horizon CSA Program, Call Horizon-CL6-2022-Governance-01
Coordination: European Forest Institute (EFI)
Web page: resalliance.eu
The goal of ResAlliance is to facilitate the flow of information and knowledge and increase the awareness, understanding and capacity of farmers and foresters on landscape resilience in the Mediterranean countries. ResAlliance will gather and assess knowledge and practice needs, gaps, barriers, solutions and good practices to achieve resilient landscapes in a climate change context. In November 2003 we organized the workshop on ”A resilient territory in Baix Llobregat, Penedès and Anoia”.
SEMEDFIRE
Period: 2022-2025
Funding: Horizon Europe, call HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ACCESS-03
Coordination: European University Cyprus (Cyprus)
Web page: semedfire.eu
SEMEDFIRE (South Eastern Mediterranean Excellence Development in Fire Research) aims to enhance the capabilities and knowledge acquisition of the European University Cyprus (EUC) in Research and Innovation (R&I) and Research- Management-Administration (RMA) in matters of Safety and Fire Management. The aim is to raise the profile and reputation of EUC to a level of excellence that will allow it to become the beacon of the dissemination of wildfire science in Cyprus and the Southeastern Mediterranean.
EduFire Toolkit
Period: 2022-2024
Funding: EU Erasmus+ Program
Coordination: Pau Costa Foundation
Web page: edufiretoolkit.eu
This project aims to provide knowledge and raise awareness among secondary school teachers and students about challenges related to climate change and reducing the risk of forest fires. EduFire has created a set of multidisciplinary teaching resources, following a project-based learning methodology. In 2023 the first pilot test of the project was carried out.
PyroLife
Period: 2019-2024
Funding: EU Horizon 2020 Program
Coordination: Wageningen University & Research (The Netherlands)
Web page: pyrolife.lessonsonfire.eu
International Training Network (ITN) that funds 15 Early Stage Researchers to carry out interdisciplinary research on wildfires, and create the new generation of experts in Integrated Fire Management (IFM) worldwide. The Foundation hosts researcher Kathleen Uyttewaal for three years, while she develops her doctorate at Wageningen University (The Netherlands). In 2023 the “PyroLife 2023 Conference: The Four Axes of Diversity Wildfire” took place.
SAFERS
Period: 2020-2023
Funding: EU Horizon 2020 Programme
Coordination: LINKS Foundation (Italy)
Web page: safers-project.eu
The project aimed to develop a complex Emergency Management System (EMS) to support the entire emergency management cycle. That is, a Big Data information system that integrates Earth observation data and services offered by the EU Copernicus program, crowdsourcing data from social networks and other applications used by both citizens and emergency personnel, and real-time data provided by sensors to detect smoke or fires. In October 2023, the 3rd pilot test was carried out in El Perelló (Tarragona). See the project’s results here.
RESPOND-A
Period: 2020-2023
Funding: EU Horizon 2020 Programme
Coordination: European University Cyprus (Cyprus)
Web page: respond-a-project.eu
The RESPOND-A project aimed to develop holistic and user-friendly solutions for firs responders. It joined efforts of researchers in 5G wireless communications, virtual and augmented reality; autonomous robots and coordination of unmanned aerial vehicles; smart wearable sensors and monitoring intelligent, geovisual analytics and immersive geospatial data analysis; passive and active localization and tracking; and 360º multi-view interactive video streaming. In April 2023, the final conference of the project was held.
FIRElinks
Period: 2019-2023
Funding: EU Horizon 2020 Program
Coordination: Universitat de València (Spain)
Web page: firelinks.eu
FIRElinks was a COST Action of the European Union, developing a network of scientists and professionals involved in wildfire research and land management across the EU. Likewise, it connected communities of different scientific and geographical origins, allowing the discussion of different experiences and the emergence of new approaches to fire investigation.
Firelogue
Period: 2021-2025
Funding: EU Horizon 2020 Programme
Coordination: Fraunhofer Institute for Technological Trend Analysis (Germany)
Web page: firelogue.eu
The Firelogue project aims to create a network and platform that facilitates debate and knowledge exchange between institutions and organizations involved in wildfire risk management. The objective is to jointly develop integrated strategies to reduce mortality, accidental ignitions and emissions derived from wildfires. The final result will be intersectoral fire risk management recommendations in Europe, for a 2030 roadmap. In 2023, the project presented the renovated “Lessons on Fire powered by Firelogue” platform.
NEMAUSUS
Period: 2021-2023
Funding: UCPN Program, EU Horizon 2020
Coordination: Ministère de l’Intèrieur (France)
Web page: project Nemausus
NEMAUSUS (Network of European Multihazard Capacities Hub of Scientists Understanding and Sharing) has provided the basis of the European Center of Expertise (CoE) focused on forests and wildfires. The already existing base in Nimes (France) of the French civil protection service was the starting point of the future centre. The project allowed the design, development and implementation of the necessary actions in order to create a European knowledge network that will serve to create the CoE.
The Foundation organizes in-person and virtual events so that the wildfire community can share and learn about progress and new perspectives, nationally and internationally. The organization of seminars, conferences and congresses allows us to collaborate with other entities in the field of wildfires and disseminate operational, scientific and social knowledge.
Likewise, we encourage the participation of members of the Foundation’s executive team and members of our network of experts as speakers at conferences and congresses.
Presentation events of the “Declaration on the management of large wildfires in Spain”
Date: Along 2023
Location: Barcelona, Madrid, Mallorca, Gran Canaria (Spain)
Organization: Pau Costa Foundation
On June 15, 2023, we held the first public presentation of the “Declaration” simultaneously in Madrid and Barcelona. From here, we organized public presentation events in Sóller, Mallorca (on September 14) in collaboration with Tramuntana XXI, and in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (October 6) in collaboration with the Cabildo of Gran Canaria and Fénix.
Partner Webinar Series
Together with the International Association of Wildland Fire (IAWF) and the Association for Fire Ecology (AFE) we created a webinar series to capture the diverse voices of the international wildfire community. In 2023, three webinars were organized.
VIII “Jornadas Técnicas de Incendios Forestales: Incendios forestales. Un riesgo global”
Date: November 21-22, 2023
Founding: Red Eléctrica
Web page: paucostafoundation.org
Organization: Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha (JCCM) and Pau Costa Foundation
These are annual conferences that aim to be a space for debate for professionals from all sectors involved in the management of wildfire emergencies. The 2023 programme included a summary of the Spanish presidency of the Council of the EU focused on the Spanish strategy for disaster risk reduction, international cooperation, and how to make proposals that integrate forest management and nature conservation applicable; presentations of European projects; presentations on the economic impact of wildfires and the regional cohesion policy for fires; satellites as allies in the fight against
fires; future scenarios in wildfire management; and finally, a debate on education in wildfire prevention.
Participation of PCF members in seminars and conferences
Communicating the important role of Sustainable Forest Management to prevent wildfires
Date: February 8, 2023
Location: Barcelona (Spain)
Web page: Workshop information
Organization: Forest Europe
Mariona Borràs and Ariadna Goenaga from the community engagement and communications areas of the Foundation, presented the environmental education project “MeFiTu” as an example of a participatory methodology to learn the importance of forest management to reduce the risk and impact of wildfires, and learning to live with fire.
We accompanied the students of the course “Understanding forest fires: eines of sustainable management and environmental education” of the GRAM group (UB) to visit a strategic area managed with prescribed fires in Montgrí. This field trip complemented the theoretical sessions that had previously been carried out on the learning and service methodology applied to the natural environment.
Technical session on wildfire prevention
Helena Ballart and Guillem Canaleta, who work in the Foundation’s Resilient Landscapes and Societies area, explained the importance of disseminating prevention and self-protection to children as agents of change in the social perception of fires. They also talked about the key role of citizens in projects such as “Ramats de Foc” (Fire Flocks).
8th International Wildland Fire Conference
Juan Caamaño, PCF’s head of Training and Operations, presented the EFIG program. Kathleen Uyttewaal, PhD researcher in the Pyrolife project, presented the poster: “Co-creating Adaptation Pathways to Wildland Fire in Catalonia.”
Course about how to deal with wildfires
Date: June 27-July 1
Location: Donostia (Spain)
Web page: Course information
Organization: Fundación Cursos de Verano UPH/UPV
Cristina Montiel, a full professor at the UCM and member of the Foundation, delivered a seminar on fire risk awareness and participated in a round table on this topic. The course was one of the opportunities that the Foundation offered to its members during 2023.
Workshop about education to live with fire
Date: July 12-14, 2023
Location: Santiago de Compostela (Spain)
Web page: Educar para vivir con fuego
Organization: “Plantando Cara al Fuego” project, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela (USC)
Helena Ballart and Ariadna Goenaga from the Foundation’s executive team, carried out a workshop on innovation and educational strategies and presented the Foundation’s educational strategy and its awareness-raising projects.
Session to discuss an Iberian forests agreement as a collective challenge
Date: October 24, 2023
Location: Madrid (Spain)
Web page: Session
Organization: Foro de Bosques y Cambio Climático, Greenpeace, WWF and Ecologistas en Acción.
Luis Berbiela, trustee of the Pau Costa Foundation, presented the “Declaration on the management of large wildfires in Spain” at the Conference “Agreements for Iberian forests: a collective challenge.” He also participated in a debate on processes, advances and success stories regarding forests and forestry policy.
Talk about what is happening to forests in the Osona region
Carla Vilarasau, from the Resilient Landscapes and Societies area, participated in this science program by giving the conference “Els boscos osonencs i els incendis forestals.”
10th International Fire Ecology and Management Congress
Date: December 4-8, 2023
Location: Monterey (USA)
Web: AFE Fire Congress
Organization: Association for Fire Ecology (AFE)
Kathleen Uyttewaal, a PhD student at the Foundation, presented the “Declaration on the management of wildfires in Spain” focusing on both the content of the document and the process and methodology for generating the “Declaration.”