Cyprus must move from a largely fragmented approach to wildfires toward a comprehensive strategy centered on prevention, land management and climate adaptation, embedding wildfire risk across spatial planning, agriculture, water management and civil protection policies, according to a report by the European Academies’ Science Advisory Council (EASAC).
The EASAC report 'Changing Wildfires in Europe' was presented in Nicosia, on 22 January, during an event organised by the Cyprus Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts and hosted by The Cyprus Institute, as wildfires emerge as one of the most acute climate-related risks facing the island and the wider Eastern Mediterranean.
The report warns that Cyprus is already experiencing wildfire impacts that exceed earlier climate projections, driven by hotter summers, drier winters, prolonged drought and changes in land use that increase the accumulation of flammable biomass. Across Europe, and particularly in the Mediterranean, wildfires are becoming more frequent, more intense and more destructive, affecting forests, farmland, Natura 2000 sites, communities and the wildland–urban interface, with far-reaching social, environmental and economic consequences, it is noted.
The findings were presented by the report’s lead authors, Dr Thomas Elmqvist, Professor at the Stockholm Resilience Centre and Environment Director of EASAC, and Dr Orsolya Valko, Research Group Leader at the HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research in Hungary. Professor Efthymios Lekkas of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, an expert in disaster management and adaptation, also participated in the discussion.
EASAC notes that EU and national policies continue to focus primarily on fire suppression and emergency response. While essential, suppression alone is no longer sufficient in a warming climate. The report calls for a shift towards proactive, risk-based land and landscape management, the integration of wildfire risk into spatial planning and climate adaptation, increased investment in prevention, fuel management and resilient landscapes, and strengthened public awareness and fire literacy.
For Cyprus, the report stresses the need to systematically integrate wildfire risk into climate adaptation strategies, forestry and agricultural policy, water management and civil protection planning, reflecting the island’s high exposure and limited natural buffers.
The report also underlines the importance of regional cooperation, noting that wildfires have been identified as a key priority under the Eastern Mediterranean–Middle East Climate Initiative (EMME-CCI). Recent fire seasons have shown that wildfire risk does not respect national borders and requires coordinated regional approaches. EASAC points to shared monitoring, modelling, risk assessment and scenario development as areas where regional cooperation can deliver far greater effectiveness.
Advances in technology are creating new opportunities for risk assessment and early warning. High-resolution satellite imagery combined with climate modelling allows near-real-time mapping of biomass, vegetation stress and landscape change, helping scientists assess how rising temperatures, altered rainfall patterns and extreme weather influence wildfire behaviour. Part of this modelling and analytical work is already being carried out at The Cyprus Institute, reinforcing Cyprus’s role as a regional centre of excellence in climate and wildfire research.
Early-warning systems that combine satellite observations, meteorological forecasts and artificial intelligence can detect small ignitions, identify high-risk zones and support faster response and targeted evacuations, reducing damage to lives, ecosystems and livelihoods in Cyprus and across the region, it is added.
Beyond the report’s policy recommendations, Cyprus is seen as having a strategic opportunity to strengthen its regional role in wildfire preparedness and coordination. The European Union’s decision to establish a Wildfire Hub based in Cyprus is described as a chance not only to enhance firefighting capacity, but also to support prevention, preparedness and cross-border coordination, grounded in scientific evidence.
(Source: CNA)
