The Czech Environmental Information Agency, through the Wildfire CE project of the Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE 2021-2027 programme, is involved in the establishment of a transboundary forest fire early warning system. The project aims to create a multilingual information portal enabling the early specification of areas with increased or high risk of forest fires with regard to terrain configuration, type and condition of landscape cover, current humidity, wind strength and direction and other parameters. All this with a cross-border overlap, or using data from both sides of the national border. Within the framework of the project, a cross-border workshop was held in Znojmo on 20 May 2025, which focused on strengthening cooperation between Czech and Austrian integrated rescue system units, especially fire brigades and the administrations of the Podyjí and Thayatal National Parks.
For the first time in the framework of the project together in one place
This event represented the first joint face-to-face meeting of firefighters from both sides of the border within the project. Practical differences in approaches and legislative barriers were discussed, as well as the possibility of creating a common terminology platform or regular exchange training.
Firefighters would appreciate a continuation
Both sides agreed that it is necessary to continue these meetings and to include a broader spectrum of actors. Participants talked about the concrete practical implications of cross-border interventions, such as the need to harmonise insurance coverage for interventions, or the need to create an online database of contact persons and competences for potential crisis situations.
Specific proposals for action plans
The workshop also produced a number of suggestions for planned action plans – from recommendations for changes to legislation on controlled burning, to support for a media campaign highlighting the risks of human activity when visiting protected areas.
In conclusion, the message was clear: collaboration is key, and the Wildfire CE project is an important tool for systematically building it.
The meeting was organised by the Czech Environmental Information Agency (CENIA) together with project partners CzechGlobe, the Czech Institute for Global Change Research of the CAS, and BOKU University, Austria. Many thanks for the active participation of the representatives of Podyjí National Park and Austrian Nationalpark Thayatal.
More information about the project can be found here:
https://cenia.gov.cz/projekty/aktualni-projekty/projekt-wildfire-ce-programu-interreg-central-europe-2021-2027/
