Experts from the European Forest Institute (EFI) urge moving from managing each fire as an isolated emergency to managing fire risk across landscapes and throughout the year.
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Windstorms are among the most devastating forest risk factors, causing loss of livelihood and income and disrupting markets at different levels. A proactive approach to managing this crisis must cover all phases.
This is why the FoRISK Secretariat, along with the Minister Haely-Rae, the Irish Forest Windblow Taskforce, and a group of experts represented by Christoph Hartebrodt (from the Forest Research Institute of Baden-Württemberg) met in Dublin earlier this month.
The round table discussion touched on FoRISK’s vision to enhance knowledge exchange and support toolset for countries facing such calamities. The Irish stakeholders openly expressed their challenges and concerns post-event, such as limitations in the wood-transport process and licensing, while Mr. Hartebrodt shared his extensive experiences in facing windstorms not only in Germany but also in Slovenia and other pan-European countries.
Mr. Hartebrodt presented a detailed map showing the supply chain and interconnected processes, and analyzing the shortcoming factors as an essential tool when investigating a country’s windstorm prevention, preparation, intervention, and restoration phases.
The discussion highlighted the importance of building trust and strengthening collaboration while facing such a devastating event through the facilitation of the FoRISK Secretariat and its international experts.
The joint work with the Ministry of Agriculture in Ireland is ongoing, and FoRISK is directly helping develop a dynamic wind-blow strategy for the country. A follow-up one-day workshop has been announced for early May.
“FoRISK aim to be a reliable knowledge hub fostering cooperation in disaster risk management. We need your visions, experiences and support in reaching it jointly for more resilient forests and forest sectors.” Silvia Abruscato, Coordinator of the Forest Risk Facility (FoRISK)
The endorsement of the Bonn Ministerial Decision by the FOREST EUROPE Ministers at the 9th FOREST EUROPE Ministerial Conference marked the beginning of the Forest Risk Facility (FoRISK), hosted by the European Forest Institute, Bonn. Three months into its establishment, the Secretariat is working towards making FoRISK a key platform for knowledge exchange as well as sharing science-based information and promoting cross-sectoral networking among regional, national and international actors. These aims will be achieved through working with FOREST EUROPE’s signatories across the pan-European borders, practitioners and experts to address issues like droughts and wildfires, storms and pests & diseases.
The FoRISK working modalities framework developed over the last months was approved at the recently concluded Expert Level Meeting (ELM) on April 3, giving the formal green light to the Facility. The top priorities for the FoRISK Secretariat include the development of FoRISK governance rules in detail, as well as the work programme development and engagement with other relevant actors. These activities will be further discussed in the upcoming first kick-off meeting for the Steering Committee, which will be held on 28.04.2025 from 13:00-15:00 (CET) in a hybrid format. FoRISK Coordinator, Ms. Silvia Abruscato, invited members to provide financial support and in-kind contributions to ensure inclusion and the successful work of the Secretariat through a greater impact. The outcomes of the discussions at the kick-off meeting will be shared with all.
Stay tuned to get fresh information about the first activities of the FoRISK after our kick-off meeting at the end of the month.
