Joint exchange highlights need for stronger wildfire resilience across Europe

EUSTAFOR, CEPF, Copa-Cogeca and ELO exchange experiences on the 2026 wildfire season

On 23 September, EUSTAFOR, together with CEPF, Copa-Cogeca and ELO, held an internal exchange on the 2026 wildfire situation and its impacts on forests, rural areas and the forest sector.

The meeting brought together representatives from across Europe to share national experiences and discuss four key areas: the current wildfire situation and its impacts, post-fire management and forest regeneration, measures taken in response, and lessons learned.

A growing wildfire challenge

The exchange highlighted a common trend across countries: wildfire risk is expanding geographically, while fires are becoming more frequent, intense and simultaneous.

The French experience presented by the ONF illustrated the scale of this challenge. In 2026, around 76,000 hectares of forest had provisionally burned in France, making it the country’s third most devastating wildfire year of the past 50 years. Eight fires exceeded 1,000 hectares, with impacts extending beyond forest loss to biodiversity, mountain areas, infrastructure and public access.

The exchange also brought perspectives from Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina highlighting the importance of wildfire resilience within a diverse forest landscape. Underlining the important role of public forest managers in prevention, management and recovery efforts. A key case highlighted was the international cooperation and the need for developing prevention as well as to invest in infrastructure and preparedness. In the Balkans these are key to tackling the issue.

2026 confirms the geographical extension and intensification of wildfire risk, as well as the increasing simultaneity of large fires.

From prevention to post-fire recovery

The discussion reinforced the importance of addressing wildfire through the full prevention, preparedness, response and recovery cycle.

Prevention and preparedness require sustained investment in risk assessment, monitoring, surveillance, fire-protection infrastructure and the implementation of measures such as brush clearing. The French ONF experience demonstrated the scale of these activities, including more than 9,000 surveillance and intervention patrols during the 2026 season.

Post-fire management is equally important. The ONF approach includes securing affected areas, mapping and assessing damage, managing burnt wood, monitoring regeneration and forest health, and supporting forest reconstitution and ecological recovery.

The role of active and adaptive forest management

A key message from the exchange was the contribution of active and adaptive forest management to more resilient landscapes.

Greater diversity in forest structures, ages and species, together with landscape-scale measures such as varied forest densities, wetlands and fuel breaks, can contribute to reducing vulnerability and supporting recovery following fires.

For EUSTAFOR, wildfire resilience therefore needs to be considered not only as an emergency response issue, but as a long-term forest and landscape management challenge.

Supporting an integrated European approach

The exchange provides useful input to the ongoing European discussion on integrated wildfire risk management. Experiences from forest managers across Europe underline the need for a coordinated approach that connects prevention, preparedness, response and post-fire management, while recognising the different fire risks and management conditions across regions.

EUSTAFOR will continue to bring the perspective of public forest managers into this policy discussion and work with its partners to identify opportunities for further joint action on wildfire prevention, resilience and post-fire management.