Knowledge and
Applied Science
We facilitate projects that integrate the entire spectrum of wildfires: research, emergency services and society.
EWED
The EWED project (Extreme Wildfire Events Data Hub for Improved Decision Making) aims to improve existing knowledge about Extreme Wildfire Events (EWEs) and the capacity to prepare for and respond to these events. To this end, data from wildfires are collected on-site to feed models of the fire-atmosphere interaction, a key phenomenon for the development of EWEs. These will be available on a portal seeking to give support to decision-making on EWEs.
Period: 2024-2025
Funding: Knowledge for Action in Prevention & Preparedness program of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism
Coordination: Pau Costa Foundation
Website: EWED
The EWED project (Extreme Wildfire Events Data Hub for Improved Decision Making) officially launched with a meeting between representatives of the participating organizations on January 30 and 31, 2024. For two years, EWED will contribute to improving existing knowledge about Extreme Wildfire Events (EWEs) and the capacity to prepare for and respond to these events.
Extreme wildfires, by altering the structure of the atmosphere, spread more rapidly and burn more intensely than other wildfires.
Furthermore, their behavior cannot be fully predicted, which makes them very difficult to combat. Due to climate change, for example, in Catalonia, EWEs have gone from representing 0.2–0.5% to 5–7% of existing wildfires in recent years. Their frequency is increasing, but we don’t understand enough to be able to address them.
“EWEs are not predictable because their behavior has not been linked to the data we can measure and observe at the surface. Therefore, it is a difficult process to model. Technology now allows us to begin to focus on these types of problems. Even so, they are a problem for which we need a physics-based understanding of the fire-atmosphere interaction, which we currently lack, and we have to be concerned because things are getting worse, they are accelerating,” adds Marc Castellnou (GRAF, Catalan Fire and Rescue Service). [+]
Other projects, seminars and conferences
FIRE-ADAPT
Period: 2023-2026
Funding: Horizon Europe program
Coordination: Pau Costa Foundation
Website: fireadapt.eu
The project aims to improve our understanding of the role of Integrated Fire Management (IFM) in preventing wildfires and improving natural and cultural ecosystem services in regions of the Mediterranean basin and Latin America. The objective is to quantify, monitor and evaluate the impact of IFM on carbon dynamics, biodiversity and cultural ecosystem services in different tropical and subtropical regions with altered fire regimes. The Brazil Study Hub hosted a project gathering in 2024, following those carried out in Spain and Mexico in 2023.
MedEWSa
Period: 2023-2026
Founding: Horizon Europe program
Coordination: World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
Website: medewsa.eu
With a consortium of 30 partners, MedEWSa is an innovative initiative to forecast and warn of natural hazards in Europe, the Mediterranean, and Africa. The project’s objective is to develop a multi-hazard early warning system to improve the response to natural disasters exacerbated by climate change. This system will make it possible to accurately predict hazards and help emergency services respond quickly in vulnerable areas. MedEWSa responds to the UN’s call to protect everyone from extreme weather events in the next five years. On November 4 and 5, 2024, we participated in the project’s General Assembly, held in Barcelona.
ResAlliance
Period: 2022-2025
Funding: Horizon CSA program, Call Horizon-CL6-2022-Governance-01
Coordination: European Forest Institute (EFI)
Website: resalliance.eu
ResAlliance’s goal is to facilitate the flow of information and knowledge, and increase the awareness, understanding, and capacity of farmers and foresters regarding landscape resilience in Mediterranean countries. ResAlliance is collecting and assessing knowledge and practice needs, gaps, obstacles, solutions, and good practices for achieving resilient landscapes in a context of climate change. In 2024, we organized the workshop on ‘Solutions to Address Climate Challenges in Baix Llobregat, Penedès, and Anoia‘ and participated in the 8th Mediterranean Forest Week.
SEMEDFIRE
Period: 2022-2025
Funding: Horizon Europe, call HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ACCESS-03
Coordination: European University Cyprus (Cyprus)
Website: 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 Fire Safety and Management. The aim is to raise EUC’s profile and reputation to a level of excellence that will enable it to become a beacon for the dissemination of wildfire science in Cyprus and the Southeastern Mediterranean, as well as a reference in fostering a culture of wildfire safety. In 2024, we played a significant role in the ‘4th Hands-on Training Short Course‘ in Cyprus.
EduFire Toolkit
Period: 2022-2024
Funding: EU Erasmus+ Program
Coordination: Pau Costa Foundation
Website: edufiretoolkit.eu
This project aims to contribute knowledge and raise awareness among high school teachers and students about challenges related to climate change and wildfire risk reduction. EduFire has created a set of multidisciplinary educational resources, following a Project-Based Learning methodology. In 2024, we conducted one of the pilot tests at the Taradell Secondary School, organized multiplier events, and published the platform with all the educational materials for students and teachers that the project has generated.
PyroLife
Period: 2019-2024
Funding: EU Horizon 2020 program
Coordination: Wageningen University & Research (The Netherlands)
Website: pyrolife.lessonsonfire.eu
This is an Innovative Training Network (ITN) that funded 15 junior researchers to conduct interdisciplinary research on wildfires and created a new generation of experts in Integrated Fire Management worldwide. The Foundation hosted researcher Kathleen Uyttewaal for three years while she pursued her doctorate at Wageningen University (Netherlands). This project, which has generated 15 scientific articles, 10 doctoral theses, and educational resources, concluded in 2024.
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 to facilitate discussion and knowledge exchange among institutions and organizations involved in wildfire risk management. It aims to develop integrated strategies to reduce mortality, accidental ignitions, and emissions from wildfires. The final outcome is expected to be cross-sectoral recommendations for wildfire risk management in Europe for a 2030 roadmap. In 2024, the project made progress in promoting the revamped ‘Lessons on Fire powered by Firelogue‘ platform and held its second working group meeting in Greece.
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 of the ‘Declaration on the Management of Large Wildfires in Spain
Date: 2024
Location: Tenerife, Santander and Aínsa.
Organized by: Pau Costa Foundation.
Following the official presentation of the “Declaration” in Madrid and Barcelona on June 15, 2023, and subsequent presentations in Sóller, Mallorca (September 14), and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (October 6), in 2024 we organized further presentations in Tenerife (June 3), in Cantabria (Santander, July 3), and in Aragón (Aínsa, October 10).
In addition, the Declaration was also presented as part of the “Just Ecological Transition Conference” (Alzira, September 19), at the International FireRed Congress (Salamanca, October 18), and during the seminar “Forest Fires in Spain” (Madrid, October 15).
“Partner Webinar Series”
Date: 2024
Location: online
Together with the International Association of Wildland Fire (IAWF) and the Association for Fire Ecology (AFE), we created a series of webinars to capture the diverse voices of the international wildland fire community. In 2024, three webinars were held, featuring Sarah McCaffrey (US Forest Service), Fantina Tedim (University of Porto, Portugal), Andrés Bosch (National Fire Management Service, Argentina), and Ariel Amthauer (National Parks Administration, Argentina).
“Euro-Mediterranean Forest Fires Workshop on the Prevention and Fight Against Forest Fires and Natural Areas”
Date: April 23–25, 2024
Location: Tunisia
Web: Workshop
Organized by: Unión for the Mediterranean, Pau Costa Foundation, Office National de la Protection Civile de la Tunisie and DG European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid
We organized this workshop together with the Union for the Mediterranean to strengthen collaboration among countries in the Euro-Mediterranean region in the areas of prevention, preparedness, and response to natural and human-made disasters. The objective was to improve capacities to anticipate disasters through early warning systems and to address future challenges in a collaborative, organized, coherent, and non-binding manner.
PCF Involvement in Conferences and Events
Juan Caamaño, head of the Training and Operations area, presented the activities and objectives of this area of the Foundation, as well as the use of satellite data in the case of the 2023 wildfires in Chile. The presentation took place within the framework of the EUMETSAT “Wildfires User Workshop.” Access the presentation here.
“The Role of the Pau Costa Foundation in International Cooperation“
Núria Prat, head of the Knowledge and Applied Science area, participated in the “International Cooperation Seminar” with a talk about the Foundation’s role on the international stage. The seminar was organized by ETSEAMN-UPV as part of a session of the Fire Master’s program.
UK Wildfire Conference 2024
Juan Caamaño and Orlando Martínez, from the Training and Operations area, represented the Foundation at the “UK Wildfire Conference 2024: Resilience in a Changing World.” Both participated in various sessions and networking activities and presented the FIRE-ADAPT project. Additionally, the PCF was one of the event sponsors.
The regional strategy of the PCF in South America
Date: November 9, 2024
Location: Quito (Ecuador)
Web: GEFFLAC
Organized by: EU Joint Research Center
Jordi Vendrell, director of the Pau Costa Foundation, participated in the VII Meeting of the Latin America and Caribbean Forest Fire Experts Group (GEFFLAC). During the meeting, he presented the Foundation’s regional strategy and the EGIF and Fire-Adapt projects. This event was an initiative of the Joint Research Center (European Commission).
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Participation in the “8th Mediterranean Forest Week“
Date: November 4-7 , 2024
Location: Barcelona
Web: Mediterranean Forest Week
Organized by: European Forest Institute (EFI)
We participated in the 8th Mediterranean Forest Week, where we presented our involvement in the FIRE-ADAPT, PREPAST, Wild Pre-Pyrenees, ResAlliance, and Ramats de Foc projects. Additionally, within the framework of ResAlliance, we organized a debate to identify the main barriers to building landscape resilience. This will result in a White Paper with policy recommendations for landscape resilience in the Mediterranean region, led by the Foundation.
Wildfires in Spain
Date: October 15, 2024
Location: Madrid
Web: Seminario incendios forestales en España
Organized by: Real Academia de Ingenieria
Míriam Piqué, Chair of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees, represented the Foundation at this event. She participated as the moderator of the roundtable discussion titled “Spain’s Strategy.”
“Remote sensing and Fire Behaviour Analysis”
Representing the Foundation, Miquel Angel Botella, a forest technical engineer in the Forest Fire Analysis Unit UT902, participated in the “Ororatech International Wildfire Conference” with the presentation titled “Remote Sensing and Fire Behaviour Analysis: Current Uses and Challenges for the Future.”
PhD thesis
Date: October 4, 2024
Location: Wageningen (Netherlands)
Web: PhD thesis
Organized by: Wageningen University
Kathleen Uyttewaal, a predoctoral researcher on the PyroLife project, conducted her research under the supervision of Núria Prat (Pau Costa Foundation) and Cathelijne Stoof (Wageningen University). The title of her thesis was “Linking Past, Present and Future Pathways to Fire Adaptation: A Transdisciplinary Approach in Mediterranean Europe.“
We attended ECPF 2024 with a PCF booth where we showcased various projects we are involved in. Specifically, we provided information about the FIREPRIME, EWED, AFAN, and SEMEDFIRE projects, all funded by programs supported by DG ECHO. We also had a sandbox display to demonstrate how strategies for addressing wildfires are developed using this tool.
7th International Fire Behavior & Fuels Conference
We participated in the FBF2024 conference from different areas of the Foundation. Jesús Morcillo, from the Training and Operations area, conducted a workshop on fire behavior analysis; David Martín, from the Knowledge and Applied Science area, presented the Wild Pre-Pyrenees project; and Helena Ballart, from the Resilient Landscapes and Societies area, led the environmental education workshop MeFiTu.