Regional Southeast Europe / Caucasus Wildland Fire Network
A Region of the Global Wildland Fire Network

Regional Network Meetings and Outreach Activities

Initial Discussion on the Foundation of the Regional Network
At the International Scientific Conference "Fire and Emergency Safety" (31 October - 1 November 2002, Sofia, Bulgaria) the following paper has been presented by the GFMC:

First Regional Conference
A regional “Conference on Forest Fire Management and International Cooperation in Fire Emergencies in the Eastern Mediterranean, Balkans and adjoining Regions of the Near East and Central Asia” was held in Antalya, Turkey, 30 March - 3 April 2004. The conference provided a forum for the exchange of information of forest services and fire services of the region and resulted in the release of the “Antalya Declaration on Cooperation in Wildland Fire Management in the Balkans, Eastern Mediterranean, Near East and Central Asia”:

Regional Scientific and Technical Consultation 2005
On 4-5 April 2005 the Republic of Macedonia hosted the International Technical and Scientific Consultation “Forest Fire Management in the Balkan Region”. The conference was sponsored by the UNECE/FAO Team of Specialists on Forest Fire, the UN-ISDR Wildland Fire Advisory Group / Global Wildland Fire Network through its Coordinator and Secretariat, the Global Fire Monitoring Center (GFMC). Funding of the consultation was provided by the German Foreign Office (represented by the GFMC) and contributions by the participating and contributing countries (Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, Turkey).

Participants of the International Technical and Scientific Consultation in Ohrid, Macedonia.

The results of the consultation included:

  • Recommendation to enlarge the Regional Wildland Fire Network, one of the six networks within the from the Balkan Region to Southeast Europe. The network is one of six networks within the region of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN-ECE) (see also: UNECE/FAO Team of Specialists on Forest Fire). It was recommended to include the participation of countries between Austria (NW), Georgia (NE), Albania (SW) and Turkey (SE), with Greece as a country participating also in the Regional Mediterranean Wildland Fire Network.

  • Recommendation to establish a network of country Focal Points, preferably with one representative of a government agency and a representative of the academia
  • Recommendation to support the network co-coordinators that are representing the main stakeholders involved (Mr. Nikola Nikolov, Macedonia, Research; Mr. Vladimir Konstantinov, Bulgaria, Forest Service; Mr. Dulijano Grum, Croatia, Fire Service) (initially nominated for a 1-year period)

Fore more details and participation see:

Network Meeting 2006
The next meeting of the network was held in conjunction with the 33rd Session of the FAO European Forestry Commission, Zvolen, Slovakia, 22-26 May 2006. The regional network coordinator together with the GFMC / Coordinator of the Global Wildland Fire Network presented an initial proposal for the development of a “Regional Strategy on International Cooperation in Wildland Fire Management in the Regional South East European Wildland Fire Network”.

Regional Wildland Fire Consultation 2007
On 19-21 March 2007 the Regional Wildland Fire Consultation on the "Development of a Strategy on International Cooperation in Wildland Fire Management in the Regional South East European / Caucasus Wildland Fire Network" was hosted by the Global Fire Monitoring Center (GFMC) and the National Forestry Board, Ministry in Sofia, Bulgaria. The participating countries included Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Georgia, Hungary, Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia, Romania, Turkey and Ukraine (due to technical reason invited focal points from Greece, Slovakia and Azerbaijan could not participate in the meeting).

International Consultation on Fire in Irradiated Forests
An International Meeting on “Reduction of Disaster Risk from Catastrophic Wildfires in the Chernobyl Irradiated Forests” was held under the auspices of the National Agricultural University of Ukraine, Yale University, GFMC / UNISDR in Kiev, Ukraine, 25-28 July 2007.

Ukraine: Second National Round Table and Consultation on Irradiated Forests
The Ministry of Ukraine on Emergencies and Affairs of Populations Affected by the consequences of the Chernobyl catastrophe convened a Round Table on „Reduction of Risk of Disaster from Wildfires in the Chernobyl Irradiated Forests. The meeting was held on 6 October 2008 at the Ministry and cosponsored by Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Global Institute of Sustainable Forestry (U.S.A.) and the Global Fire Monitoring Center (GFMC).

Regional Consultation 2008 of the UNISDR Regional Southeast Europe / Caucasus Wildland Fire Network
The 2008 meeting of the network was held at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy, Skopje, Republic Macedonia, 4-6 December 2008. The main objectives of the meeting were the review of the fire situation in the region in 2007-2008 and the preparation for the 2009 Regional Seminar on “Fire Management on Terrain contaminated by Unexploded Ordnance (UXO), Land Mines and Radioactivity.

Advanced Seminar “Wildfires and Human Security: Fire Management on Terrain Contaminated by Radioactivity, Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) and Land Mines”
This seminar addressed consequences of wildfires and fire management on contaminated terrain and will be conducted in Kiev and Chornobyl, Ukraine, 6-8 October 2009, by the Global Fire Monitoring Center (GFMC) in the frame of the activities of the Council of Europe (CoE) and the joint project “Enhancing National Capacity on Fire Management and Risk Reduction in the South Caucasus” (Environment and Security Initiative [ENVSEC]), the UNISDR Regional Southeast Europe / Caucasus and Central Asia Wildland Fire Networks and the UNECE / FAO Team of Specialists on Forest Fire.

Advanced Regional Seminar in Wildland Fire Management in Antalya, Turkey. March 2010
 An Advanced Regional Seminar in Wildland Fire Management was conducted by the General Directorate of Forestry (Orman Genel Müdürlügü, Ankara) in cooperation with and co-sponsored by Environment and Security Initiative (ENVSEC), the Global Fire Monitoring Center (GFMC) / United Nations University (UNU), Faculty of Forestry, Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi, (Trabzon, Turkey), the UNISDR Regional Southeast Europe Wildland Fire Network and the UNECE / FAO Team of Specialists on Forest Fire in Antalya, Turkey, 1-3 March 2010:

Fire Management Training Course – Southern Caucasus Region (Borjomi, Georgia, 12-14 July 2010)
and Second and Third National Round Table on Fire Management in preparation of a National Fire Management Policy for Georgia

The second Fire Management Training Course – Southern Caucasus Region was conducted in the frame of the ENVSEC / GFMC project “Phase Two - Enhancing National Capacity on Fire Management and Wildfire Disaster Risk Reduction in the South Caucasus”, followed by a workshop for representatives of local communities “Community participation in fire management”. Both events were conducted in Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park. These events were followed by the Second and Third National Round Tables on Fire Management in preparation of a National Fire Management Policy for Georgia) (15 July and 13 December 2010).

Regional Southeast Europe / Caucasus Fire Monitoring Center (RFMC) established

In 2010 the GFMC and the Council of Europe (EUR-OPA) supported the establishment of the Regional Fire Monitoring Center for the Southeast Europe / Caucasus Region (RFMC). The RFMC is based at the Faculty of Forestry, FY Republic of Macedonia. The RFMC website was launched in December 2010:

Azerbaijan: Wildland Fire Assessment Mission and First National Round Table on Fire Management (Baku, Azerbaijan, 30 June - 6 July 2011)

A nationwide Wildland Fire Assessment Mission and First National Round Table for developing a National Fire Management Policy for Azerbaijan, a contribution of Phase II of the Environment and Security Initiative (ENVSEC) “Enhancing National Capacity on Fire Management and Wildfire Disaster Risk Reduction in the South Caucasus” through GFMC and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) (J.G. Goldammer); Baku and field sites, Azerbaijan.

Armenia: First National Fire Management Training Course, Forest Fire Exercise and National Round Table on Fire Management (Kapan / Yerevan, Armenia, 12-14 September 2011)

A first fire management training course, a national forest fire exercise and the first National Conference & Round Table on Fire Management was conducted in September 2011 in Armenia. This was a contribution of Phase II of the Environment and Security Initiative (ENVSEC) “Enhancing National Capacity on Fire Management and Wildfire Disaster Risk Reduction in the South Caucasus” through GFMC and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)

Regional Meeting of the Environment and Security Initiative (ENVSEC) in the South Caucasus (Tbilisi, Georgia, 3-4 April 2012)

Review of the work programme of the Phases II and III of the Environment and Security (ENVSEC) Initiative, including the project “Enhancing National Capacity on Fire Management and Wildfire Disaster Risk Reduction in the South Caucasus”. See OSCE brochure with a short description of the project (pp. 8-9):

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