Еxtreme weather events such as long-lasting droughts create conditions for devastating fires. Climate change, land-use change, and the rural exodus are increasing the ecosystem’s vulnerability to landscape fires in the Western Balkans (WB), which represents one of the most affected regions in Europe by landscape fires (LFs).
To mitigate the negative impacts of LFs in the WB, the Landscape Fire Management in the Western Balkans (LFMWB) Programme financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation – SDC aims to increase the resilience of Western Balkan forests and landscapes against fires to benefit the people who depend on these landscapes for their livelihoods and socioeconomic development.
The LFMWB Programme within the period of 2022-2026 focuses on the following outcomes:
The Western Balkans united with the common goal of increasing resilience of forests and landscapes against fires.
Fostering public awareness of landscape fire management role in mitigating climate change in the Western Balkans.
On 30 October 2025, in the framework of the SDC’s Landscape Fire Management in the Western Balkans (LFMWB) Programme, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Water Management (MAFWM) hosted the third workshop in Belgrade, Serbia. The workshop aimed to...
From 13 to 15 October 2025, the Landscape Fire Management in the Western Balkans (LFMWB) Programme organized a training on “Climate Change and Land Use – Mitigation and Adaptation in the Context of Landscape Fire Management” in Ulcinj, Montenegro. The event was...
From 13th to 15th of October 2025, a training on “Climate Change and Land Use – Mitigation and Adaptation in the Context of Landscape Fire Management” was held in Petrovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, as part of the Landscape Fire Management in the Western Balkans (LFMWB)...
Landscape fires are becoming an increasingly urgent challenge in the Western Balkans. Rising temperatures, prolonged droughts, and shifting rainfall patterns caused by climate change are creating conditions that make fires more frequent, more intense, and more...
Landscape fires are an increasing concern in many regions, including the Western Balkans, where hot, dry summers create the perfect conditions for fires to ignite and spread. When it comes to managing these fires, there are two very different approaches: prevention...
Key messages Nearly 70,000 hectares burned across the region in the first half of 2025. Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia experienced the most severe fire conditions to date. 90% of fires human-caused; weak early-warning systems persist. Urgent need to shift from...
