The involvement of local communities in landscape fire management (LFM) is recognized as essential for effective fire prevention and mitigation strategies. This is particularly evident in the Western Balkans, where landscape fires are a significant environmental challenge due to climate change, land-use changes, and rural migration. The Landscape Fire Management in the Western Balkans (LFMWB) Programme highlights the crucial role of local communities in addressing these challenges. Local communities possess invaluable knowledge about their environments, including historical fire patterns, vegetation types, and weather conditions. This traditional knowledge is essential for developing tailored LFM strategies that are effective, culturally relevant, grounded in practical experience, and reflective of local realities.
Engaging local communities in activities related to implementing and promoting LFM and adaptive landscape management is essential for improving landscape resilience through prevention, preparedness, and restoration. Furthermore, the communities are key to the survival of landscapes through integrating traditional knowledge, conservation values and sustainable livelihoods. Community participation in LFM can take various forms, from active involvement in hazardous fuel reduction and post-fire restoration to participation in planning and decision-making bottom-up processes. In many cases, community members can report fires before they escalate into larger, more destructive events. Therefore, conducting educational programs and public awareness campaigns for local communities can highlight the importance of LFM for creating more resilient landscapes and improving their livelihood and socioeconomic development.
The LFMWB Programme exemplifies how community involvement can be integrated into broader LFM practices that contribute to safeguarding landscapes and reducing the climate change impact at local level. Funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and coordinated by Farmahem from Skopje, North Macedonia, with backstopping support from Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation, this Programme aims to increase the fire-resilience of Western Balkan landscapes through a participatory approach.
One of the key goals of the LFMWB Programme is to establish lasting LFM regional and national networks. These networks facilitate cross-boundary knowledge exchange and cooperation that is being transferred at a national level, while allowing the local communities to learn from each other’s experiences and best practices.
Capacity building is another focus of the LFMWB Programme done through conducting educational programs and public awareness campaigns for local communities to highlight the importance of LFM. Moreover, the Programme aims to support communities in gaining knowledge on LFM and demonstrating best practices for creating landscape fire resilience by showcasing their socio-economic benefits. Thus, through the establishment of the Community-based LFM Competitive Fund, the Programme enhances the capacities of the communities to apply the LFM approach and manage landscape fires effectively.
The role of local communities in LFM is indispensable. Their involvement ensures that the LFM strategies are practical, culturally relevant, and widely supported. The LFMWB Programme demonstrates how integrating community participation into LFM can lead to more effective and sustainable outcomes. By leveraging local knowledge, fostering community ownership, and building capacity, the Programme aims to increase the resilience of the landscape in the Western Balkans, ultimately protecting both people and the environment.