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.
From 15 to 19 December 2025, capacity-building trainings on Data Analysis and Applied AI were organized by Farmahem as a Regional Executive Agency in Skopje, North Macedonia, in the frame of the SDC’s Landscape Fire Management in the Western Balkans (LFMWB) Programme....
On 3 December 2025, North Macedonia marked an important milestone in advancing the National Strategy for Adaptive Landscape Management and Landscape Fire Management. The 9th meeting of the National Landscape Fire Management (LFM) Network brought together more than 35...
On 2 December 2025, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development (MAFRD) of Kosovo*, as the Country Partner Institution of the Landscape Fire Management in the Western Balkans (LFMWB) Programme, hosted the 9th meeting of the Landscape Fire Management...
Landscape fires have become an increasingly significant environmental hazard across the Western Balkan region, affecting forests, agricultural land, infrastructure, and communities. Beyond the direct ecological damage, these fires also have substantial consequences...
In 2025, landscape fires emerged as one of the most persistent and underestimated systemic risks in the Western Balkans. Prolonged heatwaves, drought conditions, land abandonment and limited institutional capacity combined to produce one of the most severe regional...
Alongside sustainable grazing practices, the Landscape Fire Management in the Western Balkans Programme emphasizes agroforestry - the intentional integration of trees, shrubs, and crops into farmland and pasture systems, as a vital approach to building fire-resilient...
