FoRISK at the FOREST EUROPE Ministerial Conference 2026
We are proud to have contributed to the 10th FOREST EUROPE Ministerial Conference, held in Stockholm on June 2–3, bringing together key actors shaping the future of forests across Europe.
FoRISK Coordinator Silvia Abruscato played an active role in the event, moderating the High-Level Segment on Sustainable Forest Management: Wildfires. In her remarks, she stressed the urgent need to strengthen capacity building and cross-sector cooperation across governance levels, highlighting initiatives like FoRISK as essential tools to address the growing wildfire risks across Europe and beyond.
The session featured a keynote by Tiago Olivera, Associated Researcher at the Center for Innovation, Technology and Policy Research, IN+ at Instituto Superior Técnico – University of Lisbon, which set the scientific foundation of the discussion, providing an overview of current wildfire trends, emerging challenges, and promising practices across the pan-European region.
This was followed by a high-level panel discussion showcasing different national perspectives with:
- María Rodríguez de Sancho (Director General of Biodiversity, Forests and Desertification of Spain)
- İbrahim Yüz, Deputy Director General, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Türkiye
- Boris Greguska, Chief State Counsellor at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Slovak Republic
- Michael Reinhard, Head of the Forest Division, FOEN (Switzerland)
Key takeaways from the discussion:
🔥 Landscape approaches are essential to effectively address wildfire risks
🌲 Prevention remains critical across all pan-European regions
👥 Community engagement and societal dimensions are central to building resilience
During the session, Michael Reinhard also introduced the first FoRISK factsheet developed with FOEN:
“Wildfire Prevention in the Alpine Region: Fire-Resilient Forest Management in Switzerland.”
The publication highlights how climate change is intensifying wildfire risks in Alpine forests and emphasises the importance of proactive, fire-resilient forest management to protect ecosystems, infrastructure, and communities.
The factsheet will be available on our website next week, so stay tuned!
A special thanks to FOREST EUROPE for the invitation and the opportunity to contribute to this important discussion.
Check here the keynote presented by Tiago Oliveira: “Towards Integrated fire management in European forests”.
