With an anticipated dramatic increase in the risk of large landscape-scale fires in Europe, this study will be very timely. Large-scale fires not only affect forests but also grasslands and other types of landscape. UNEP (2022) has called for nations, incl. the EU and member states, to speed up preparedness and actions and make substantial reallocations of public spending regarding wildfires, with significantly more spending on pro-active prevention than currently, as well as better coordination of monitoring and evaluation. UNEP (2022) pointed out that, in general, direct emergency responses to wildfires typically receive signficantly more funding than planning and prevention.

The study will provide a critical analysis of a range of proactive actions intended to reduce the risk of landscape-scale wildfires in Europe, framed in local and regional contexts. Proactive measures include fuel management, landscape management including grazing and prescribed burning, fire regime restoration and management. In particular, restoration/recovery of burnt areas and their management to more fire-resistant vegetation with high ecological values is important. The study will also explore design principles for the planned massive EU tree planting programme in order to avoid unnecessarily adding substantial flammable fuel in vulnerable landscapes across Europe. The study will link to a number of related EU policy areas, such as strategies for climate, biodiversity, farm-to-fork, and forests, as well as the new Nature Restoration Law.