An international congress will share the leading experience in prescribed fires to stop forest fires

Most of the attendants come aiming to discover the experience in Catalonia and take it with them to their countries. Photo: GRAM.
Most of the attendants come aiming to discover the experience in Catalonia and take it with them to their countries. Photo: GRAM.
Research
(31/01/2017)
Catalonia is leader regarding prescribed fires -the use of fire with a series of thorough techniques as the element for landscape management to avoid wildfires. Researchers from the Mediterranean Environment Research Group (GRAM) of the University of Barcelona have worked with the firemen of the Generalitat de Catalunya since these practices were used, seventeen years ago. They analyse the effects and carry a research out which is useful when performing prescribed fires. The results of this research will be presented in the congress International Congress on Prescribed Fires (ICOPFIRES) which will take place at the Historical Building of the UB from February 1 to February 3, and will coincide with the previous celebration of the 14th International Wildland Fire Safety Summit in Palau de Pedralbes, in which Carles Puigdemont will give the Wildland Fire Safety Award (January, 31).
Most of the attendants come aiming to discover the experience in Catalonia and take it with them to their countries. Photo: GRAM.
Most of the attendants come aiming to discover the experience in Catalonia and take it with them to their countries. Photo: GRAM.
Research
31/01/2017
Catalonia is leader regarding prescribed fires -the use of fire with a series of thorough techniques as the element for landscape management to avoid wildfires. Researchers from the Mediterranean Environment Research Group (GRAM) of the University of Barcelona have worked with the firemen of the Generalitat de Catalunya since these practices were used, seventeen years ago. They analyse the effects and carry a research out which is useful when performing prescribed fires. The results of this research will be presented in the congress International Congress on Prescribed Fires (ICOPFIRES) which will take place at the Historical Building of the UB from February 1 to February 3, and will coincide with the previous celebration of the 14th International Wildland Fire Safety Summit in Palau de Pedralbes, in which Carles Puigdemont will give the Wildland Fire Safety Award (January, 31).

ICOPFIRES will gather a wide range of experts and professionals from the field of prescribed fires, coming from Spain, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, the United States, Sweden, Italy, Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. Most of the attendants come aiming to discover the experience in Catalonia, leader in prescribed fires, and take it with them to their countries.


The effects of the prescribed fires according to the type of soil and its use or the perception the forest owners have of the fires, are some of the results to be presented at ICOPFIRES. Xavier Úbeda, professor of Physical Geography of the UB and Director of GRAM, tells these researches point out that prescribed fires are a good tool for the landscape management and says they have to be studied and see how and when to use them depending on the characteristics of each place. “We are currently studying how prescribed fires, combined with livestock areas, are a solution for the abandoned forest areas when preventing those areas from having fires” says Úbeda. ICOPFIRES, to be opened by Meritxell Serret, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food, will include several speeches and a day trip to Parc de Collserola (Barcelona). 

International Wildland Fire Safety Summit


The International Wildland Fire Safety Summit, which will take place on January 31, will gather around 300 experts on forest fires: researchers, responsibles for emergency services from twenty different countries, university students and R&D, -that will share their latest news and experiences in the field of forest fire safety. This is the first time this summit takes place in Europe.

The Pau Costa Foundation, created in January 2011, with the aim of leading a deep change on the perception of fire and, simultaneously, capitalizing the knowledge on forest fires internationally, has been the main organizer for the international meeting in Barcelona and has worked together with the International Association of Wildland Fire (USA). The rest of the organizing committee is formed by the Firemen of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the University of Barcelona. Training and disseminating lectures (January 31) will cover operational aspects, analytical aspects and knowledge on forest fires, as well as the latest technological news to improve firemenʼs safety. Some experts have already confirmed their attendance, heads of forest emergencies coming from the United States, Israel, Australia, Portugal, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Italy, Denmark and Spain. The Summit, to be opened in the morning by the Minister of Interior, Jordi Jané, will finish at 19.30h with the award ceremony for the Wildland Fire Safety Awards given by the International Association of Wildland Fire (USA). The IAWF gives this individual or collective award each year to a fire department of any part of the world which has been outstanding for their contribution to the improvement of forest fires safety, and is a model to follow. Two years ago, this award was given to the Fire Department of Generalitat de CAtalunya and the Pau Costa Foundation for their tasks in analysis, research and dissemination of the learnt lessons in the dramatic fire in Horta de Sant Joan, in 2009, which caused the loss of five Catalan firemen, Pau Costa among them. Both the awards ceremony and the closing event of the summit are chaired by the President of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Carles Puigdemont. The Catalan President will meet the organizers and representatives of the emergency services from around the world, who will participate in the meeting.

Exhibition of paintings inspired on the documentary about the fire in Horta

During the summit at Palau de Pedralbes, January 31, and the first two days of the congress on prescribed fires at the Paranimph of the Historical Building of the UB, February 1 and 2, there will be two spaces with a big exhibition of paintings by Josep Serra Tarragón, a doctor from Cambrils who, after watching the documentary El gran silenci, directed by Carles Caparrós, about the learnt lessons during the dramatic fire in Horta de Sant Joan, was inspired to make a series of paintings with fire and firemen as the main characters. The exhibition, entitled Memòries incandescents, is part of the project Art&Fire, set up by the Pau Costa Foundation in 2011, aiming to create an international artistic fund with graphic or sculptural works that treat the phenomenon of forest fires. The exhibition will be opened on January 31 in Palau de Pedralbes by the Minister of Interior, Jordi Jané, and will count with the attendance of the author. During the days of the summit and the congress, the attendants will have open access to the platform Vimeo so they can watch the documentary El gran silence (OV and Catalan, with English and Spanish subtitles) thanks to the effort by Pau Costa Foundation to share it with the international community.