Framing Coherence Across EU Policies Towards Integrated Wildfire Risk Management and Nature-Based Solutions

Wildfire risk has been exacerbated across Europe by climate change favoring more damaging and severe wildfire events. This evolving wildfire risk context interacts with a broad landscape of EU policies including those on nature conservation, forestry, bioeconomy or climate and energy, all of which m...

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Main Authors: Eduard Plana, Marta Serra, Annick Smeenk, Adrián Regos, Claudia Berchtold, Maria Huertas, Lola Fuentes, Antoni Trasobares, Julie Nicole Vinders, Conceição Colaço, José Antonio Bonet
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Fire
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/7/11/415
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author Eduard Plana
Marta Serra
Annick Smeenk
Adrián Regos
Claudia Berchtold
Maria Huertas
Lola Fuentes
Antoni Trasobares
Julie Nicole Vinders
Conceição Colaço
José Antonio Bonet
author_facet Eduard Plana
Marta Serra
Annick Smeenk
Adrián Regos
Claudia Berchtold
Maria Huertas
Lola Fuentes
Antoni Trasobares
Julie Nicole Vinders
Conceição Colaço
José Antonio Bonet
author_sort Eduard Plana
collection DOAJ
description Wildfire risk has been exacerbated across Europe by climate change favoring more damaging and severe wildfire events. This evolving wildfire risk context interacts with a broad landscape of EU policies including those on nature conservation, forestry, bioeconomy or climate and energy, all of which may increase or reduce fire hazard and the level of exposure and vulnerability of the values at risk. Coherently addressed, policies may support wildfire disaster risk management synergistically while reducing potential dysfunctions. This research conducts a content analysis of EU policies and initiatives under the European Green Deal with respect to integrated wildfire risk management and related nature-based solutions. The results show that a consistent EU policy framework to address wildfire risk reduction in a synergic way exists, with no major conflicts in the policy design. Nevertheless, better guidance on fire-smart land management practices and the conceptualization of wildfire-related nature-based solutions may enhance a more coherent policy implementation. Additional suggestions around the legal status of wildfire protection and ‘whole of government’ governance frameworks are discussed. Notably, within the laws, policies and initiatives analyzed, the beneficial side of fire addressed by integrated fire management is either missing or not explicitly mentioned, although it is considered in policy-related supporting guidelines.
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spelling doaj-art-7d88ca745f414fb786906f2fdcc79dae2024-11-26T18:03:50ZengMDPI AGFire2571-62552024-11-0171141510.3390/fire7110415Framing Coherence Across EU Policies Towards Integrated Wildfire Risk Management and Nature-Based SolutionsEduard Plana0Marta Serra1Annick Smeenk2Adrián Regos3Claudia Berchtold4Maria Huertas5Lola Fuentes6Antoni Trasobares7Julie Nicole Vinders8Conceição Colaço9José Antonio Bonet10Forest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTFC), 25280 Solsona, SpainForest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTFC), 25280 Solsona, SpainForest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTFC), 25280 Solsona, SpainForest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTFC), 25280 Solsona, SpainUnit for Public Technology and Innovation Planning (TIP), Fraunhofer Institute for Technological Trend Analysis (INT), 53879 Euskirchen, GermanyForest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTFC), 25280 Solsona, SpainForest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTFC), 25280 Solsona, SpainForest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTFC), 25280 Solsona, SpainTrilateral Research Ltd. (TRI UK), London SW1X 7QA, UKCentro de Ecologia Aplicada Baeta Neves (CEABN-InBIO), Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349017 Lisboa, PortugalDepartment of Agricultural and Forest Sciences and Engineering, University of Lleida, 25198 Lleida, SpainWildfire risk has been exacerbated across Europe by climate change favoring more damaging and severe wildfire events. This evolving wildfire risk context interacts with a broad landscape of EU policies including those on nature conservation, forestry, bioeconomy or climate and energy, all of which may increase or reduce fire hazard and the level of exposure and vulnerability of the values at risk. Coherently addressed, policies may support wildfire disaster risk management synergistically while reducing potential dysfunctions. This research conducts a content analysis of EU policies and initiatives under the European Green Deal with respect to integrated wildfire risk management and related nature-based solutions. The results show that a consistent EU policy framework to address wildfire risk reduction in a synergic way exists, with no major conflicts in the policy design. Nevertheless, better guidance on fire-smart land management practices and the conceptualization of wildfire-related nature-based solutions may enhance a more coherent policy implementation. Additional suggestions around the legal status of wildfire protection and ‘whole of government’ governance frameworks are discussed. Notably, within the laws, policies and initiatives analyzed, the beneficial side of fire addressed by integrated fire management is either missing or not explicitly mentioned, although it is considered in policy-related supporting guidelines.https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/7/11/415governancepolicy synergies and coordinationfire-smart land managementEU policy landscape
spellingShingle Eduard Plana
Marta Serra
Annick Smeenk
Adrián Regos
Claudia Berchtold
Maria Huertas
Lola Fuentes
Antoni Trasobares
Julie Nicole Vinders
Conceição Colaço
José Antonio Bonet
Framing Coherence Across EU Policies Towards Integrated Wildfire Risk Management and Nature-Based Solutions
Fire
governance
policy synergies and coordination
fire-smart land management
EU policy landscape
title Framing Coherence Across EU Policies Towards Integrated Wildfire Risk Management and Nature-Based Solutions
title_full Framing Coherence Across EU Policies Towards Integrated Wildfire Risk Management and Nature-Based Solutions
title_fullStr Framing Coherence Across EU Policies Towards Integrated Wildfire Risk Management and Nature-Based Solutions
title_full_unstemmed Framing Coherence Across EU Policies Towards Integrated Wildfire Risk Management and Nature-Based Solutions
title_short Framing Coherence Across EU Policies Towards Integrated Wildfire Risk Management and Nature-Based Solutions
title_sort framing coherence across eu policies towards integrated wildfire risk management and nature based solutions
topic governance
policy synergies and coordination
fire-smart land management
EU policy landscape
url https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/7/11/415
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