The 7th Steering Committee/Partner Meeting of the Landscape Fire Management in the Western Balkans (LFMWB) Programme was held on 23 September 2025 in Ohrid, North Macedonia. The event was organised by Farmahem, the Regional Executive Agency (REA) of the Programme. The LFMWB Programme is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and coordinated by Farmahem-REA from Skopje, with backstopping support from Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation.
The meeting gathered representatives from the SDC, the Embassy of Switzerland in North Macedonia, Country Partner Institutions (CPIs) from Banja Luka, Belgrade, Prishtina, Podgorica, Sarajevo, and Skopje, as well as partners from the Regional Fire Monitoring Centre (RFMC), the School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (HAFL), Farmahem, and Helvetas.
Participants reviewed Programme achievements from January to September 2025, highlighting progress in finalising national strategies for LFM and adaptive landscape fire management, advancing the GAP analysis process, and implementing the Community-based projects across the region. The meeting also reflected on the successful launch of the LFM campaign as well as the student joint research grants initiative, alongside the organisation of national LFM network meetings and climate change training sessions.
The second part of the meeting focused on the Annual Operational Plan for September–December 2025, outlining upcoming activities such as capacity-building activities, initiation of the national policy guidelines, and the continuation of implementing the Community-based projects.
Programme partners expressed satisfaction with the ongoing progress, emphasising that through their shared commitment to resilient, sustainable, and collaborative approaches, they will continue to strengthen regional cooperation and institutional capacities for effective landscape fire management across the Western Balkans.