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.
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...
On 27 November 2025, the Ministry of Agriculture, Water Management, and Forestry of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnia and Herzegovina), in collaboration with the Regional Fire Monitoring Center (RFMC) from Skopje, organized a workshop in the framework...
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...
