Coming Soon

Enhancing International Cooperation for Integrated Forest Fire Management

The event will spotlight Türkiye’s leadership in climate-resilient forestry, including the Türkiye Climate Resilient Forests Project.

Add to Calendar 16-06-2025 04:25 18-06-2025 04:25 America/New_York Enhancing International Cooperation for Integrated Forest Fire Management Hello,\n\nThis is a reminder to join us virtually on World Bank: Enhancing International Cooperation for Integrated Forest Fire Management \n\nAbout the event: The event will spotlight Türkiye’s leadership in climate-resilient forestry, including the Türkiye Climate Resilient Forests Project. \n\nGo to event page: https://www.worldbank.org/en/events/2025/05/21/enhancing-international-cooperation-for-integrated-forest-fire-management \n\nWe look forward to seeing you! \n\n WORLD BANK - https://www.worldbank.org \nDevelopment Events Brought to You Live Online
Forest-Fire-Management-event

This event will be streamed here in

Date & Time

June 16 - 18, 2025 ET

Location

Ankara, Türkiye

WATCH ONLINE

Forest fires are growing in scale, frequency, and severity—posing a major threat to people, ecosystems, and economies across the globe. In response, the World Bank and the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry are convening a high-level knowledge exchange on Enhancing International Cooperation for Integrated Forest Fire Management to advance solutions through regional and global collaboration. 

The event will spotlight Türkiye’s leadership in climate-resilient forestry, including the Türkiye Climate Resilient Forests Project. This $400 million initiative, supported by the World Bank, strengthens wildfire prevention, preparedness, and response—while protecting vulnerable communities and natural landscapes. 

Across the Europe and Central Asia region, countries are facing shared wildfire risks exacerbated by climate change, land-use shifts, and increasing lightning activity.  

This conference offers a platform for policymakers, technical experts, scientists, and practitioners to exchange best practices, explore emerging technologies, and co-develop strategies for more integrated and resilient fire management. 

Over three days, participants will engage in interactive sessions covering:

  • Regional and national fire management frameworks
  • Advances in early warning systems and command centers for wildfire management
  • Community-based and ecosystem-centered prevention strategies
  • Financing instruments for resilience and recovery
  • Cross-border cooperation and knowledge exchange mechanisms

This event is more than a convening of partners—it is a call to action. As climate impacts intensify, countries must work together to transform wildfire management and safeguard forests and communities. The conference will foster long-term partnerships, promote innovation, and help align efforts toward a more resilient future.

Join us in Türkiye to be part of the solution. 

BROCHURE: Enhancing International Cooperation for Integrated Forest Fire Management

AGENDA IN TURKISH

 

Day 1: Monday, June 16

Country frameworks and best practices for fire management planning and coordinated incident response (5 Rs)

9:00-9:30 Registration & Welcome Coffee

Time

Presentation

Speaker | Institution

09:30-9:35

Session Moderator – Opening announcements

OGM

09:35–9:45

Welcome and Workshop Objectives

Neeta Hooda, Sr. Natural Resources Management Specialist, World Bank

9:45–9:50

The changing nature of forest fires in Türkiye

Video Presentation, OGM, Türkiye

9:50–10:00

Opening Remarks: General Directorate of Forestry

Bekir Karacabey, Director General, OGM

10:00–10:10

World Bank Türkiye Partnership

Humberto Lopez, Country Director, Türkiye, World Bank

10:10–10:20

Remarks from Minister from Turkmenistan

Mr. Ovezgeldi Goshjanov, Minister of Environment Protection, Turkmenistan

10:20–10:30

The European and Central Asia Perspective on Forest fire Management

Sameh Wahba, Regional Practice Director, Planet Department, ECA, World Bank

10:30–10:50

Türkiye's Role in Advancing Fire Management Excellence

H.E. Ibrahim Yumaklı Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Türkiye

10:50–11:00

Group Photo

11:00-11:30

Meet and Greet over Chai and Coffee

Kyenote Address (11:30-12:30)

Total Time: 60 min

Forest Fire Challenges and Solutions: The Big Picture

11:30-11:40

Moderator Remarks

Valerie Hickey, Global Director, Climate Change, World Bank

11:40–11:55

From Crisis to Resilience: Rethinking Forest fire Management

Nick Loris, Executive Vice President of Policy, C3 Solutions

11:55-12:05

Tracking the Blaze: Forest fire Trends and the Role of Data in Smarter Decisions

İlkay Altıntas, Chief Data Science Officer San Diego Supercomputer Center; founder wildfirecommons.org

12:05-12:15

The Future of Forest Fire Management in the Mediterranean

Giovanbattista De Dato – FAO Silva Mediterranea (Virtual)

12:15-12:30

Q&A

12:30-13:30

Lunch

Session 1 Toward a Resilient Region: Shared Challenges and Insights on Forest fire Management (13:30–14:30)

Total Time: 60 min
Panel Discussion 45 min | Audience Q&A 15 min

Time

Presentation

Speaker | Institution

13:30–13:40

Moderator

Leela Raina, Economist, World Bank

13:40–14:15

Panel Discussion-Fireside Chat

Kenan Akduman - Türkiye

Anuarbek Bermagambetov – Kazakhstan

Agustin Pepkolaj – Albania

Akif Habilov - Azerbaijan

14:15-14:30

Audience Q&A

14:30–15:00

Coffee & Chai Break

Parallel Session 2:  Review and Readiness for Risk Reduction of Forest Fires (15:00–17:00)

Total Time: 120 min
Speakers 80 min | Discussants 30 min | Q&A 10 min

Time

Presentation

Speaker | Institution

15:00–15:05

 

Moderator

Case studies: Review and Readiness for Risk Reduction

Sanjay Srivastava, Regional Manager, ECA, World Bank

15:05–15:20

 

The Escalating Threat of Forest Fires and the Urgent Task of Forest Fuel Management in South Korea

Kiyeon Ko, Korea

15:20–15:35

Resilient Forests: Adaptive Fire Management in Western Australia

Murray Carter, Australia

15:35–15:50

Preemptive Forest Fire Prevention and Monitoring in France

Eric Flores, France

15:50–16:05

Fighting Forest fires and Adapting to a Changing Climate: Canadian Experiences

Maggie Julian, Canada (Virtual)

16:05–16:20

USA Forest Fire Resilience Strategy

Chief Donna Black, USFA, USA (Virtual)

16:20–17:00

Discussants

Professor Ömer Küçük – Türkiye

Natia Iordanishvili – Georgia

Davlatali Sharipov-Tajikistan

Q&A

Parallel Session 3: Effective Response & Recovery in Forest Fire Management (15:00–17:00)

Total Time: 120 min
Speakers 75 min | Discussants 30 min | Q&A 15 min

Time

Presentation

Speaker | Institution

15:00-15:05

Moderator

Case Studies: Effective Response and Recovery

Asferachew Abebe Abate, Sr. Environment Specialist, World Bank

15:05–15:20

Managing risk: Bushfire intelligence for risk reduction and post fire impact assessment in Australia

Justin Leonard, CSIRO Australia

15:20–15:35

Advances and challenges for the adoption of Integrated Fire Management in Portugal

Tiago Oliveira, AGIF, Portugal (Virtual)

15:35–15:50

Role of communication and awareness for forest fire management, Govt of Türkiye

Mustafa Bostancı,  Directorate of Communications, The Republic of Türkiye

15:50–16:05

Wildland Urban Interface and Community Resilience Strategies for Forest Fire Management

Uğur Zeydanlı – DKM, Türkiye

António Patrão, Wildfire Expert, Portugal

16:05–16:15

Engaging Communities in risk prevention and response, Experiences from FireWise Program, USA  

Michele Steinberg – NFPA, USA (virtual-recording)

16:15-17:00

 

Discussants

Yaşar Çakıroğlu – Türkiye

Dalila Efendic, Bosnia & Herzegovina

Alan Sinclair – International Wildfire Alliance

Q&A and Closing

17:00–17:30

Plenary Session: Takeaways from parallel sessions on 5Rs

Rapporteurs (Paul de Mar, Hande Bilir, WB consultants)

19:00–21:00 Networking Dinner Hosted by Türkiye Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry

Day 2: Tuesday, June 17

Theme: Technology, financial innovation, and collaboration in Integrated Fire Management

Session 4: Technology advancements for Integrated Fire Management (09:00–11:00)

Total Time: 120 min
Speakers 65 min | Discussants 20 min | Q&A 35 min

Time

Presentation

Speaker | Institution

09:00–09:10

 

Moderator

Nagaraja Rao Harshadeep, Global Lead Disruptive Technology, Environment Department, World Bank

09:10-9:25

Integration of technology in Forest Fire management in Türkiye

İlhami Aydın, OGM

09:25–09:40

Reflections on challenges and lessons from use of technology from South Korea

Kiyeon Ko – Ex- Director-General of the Fire Aviation Headquarters, South Korea

 

9:40-10:30

Innovative Technologies Technology experts offer a first look at breakthrough solutions and collaborative tools advancing forest fire management.

 

 

Ororatech

Konstantin Pieper – Ororatech

Muonspace – FIRESAT

Sean Triplett – Earth Fire Alliance

Skyward Wildfire Technologies

Sam Goldman – Skyward (Virtual)

Dryad Network

Carsten Brinkschulte – Dryad Network

Kodama Systems

Joe Lerdal – Kodama Systems (Virtual)

BurnBot Inc.

Clinton Neuman – BurnBot (Virtual)

Basarsoft

Ahmet Dabanlı – Basarsoft, Türkiye

10:30–11:00

Discussant

Kevin Marriott – XPrize Wildfire

Sarah Rusell (Bellweather X) (Virtual)

Q&A

11:00–11:15

Coffee & Chai Break

Session 5: Leveraging Financing for Fire Resilience (11:15–13:00)

Moderator: Ghislain Martial Yanou – World Bank
Total Time: 105 min
 Speakers 65 min | Discussants 30 min | Q&A 10 min

Time

Presentation

Speaker | Institution

11:15-11:25

Moderator

 

The Case for Investing in Prevention

Ghislain Martial Yanou, Senior Financial Officer, Sustainable Finance Products, World Bank Treasury

11:25–11:35

Spending better: Fiscal policy and instruments for forest fire prevention

Leela Raina, World Bank

11:35-11:50

Leveraging blended finance to invest in fire resilience: Public private partnerships

Nick Wobbrock, Blue Forest (Virtual)

11:50–12:05

Leveraging carbon markets through strategic land management practices

David Saah, University of San Francisco

12:05–12:20

Forest Fire Resilience Insurance: First insurance underwritten based on risk reduction from ecological forest management

Dave Jones, UC Berkeley

12:20–13:00

Discussants and Q&A

Genevieve Biggs, The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (Virtual)

Daniel Murphy, WEF

Tom Edwards, World Bank Treasury

13:00–14:00

Lunch

Session 6: Collaboration for Forest Fire Management (14:00–15:45)

Total Time: 105 min
Speakers 65 min | Panel/Reaction 35 min | Summary 10 min

Time

Presentation

Speaker | Institution

14:00-14:05

Opening Remarks: Moderator

Natalie Çilem, Community Lead, Global Network for Wildfire Leadership, World Economic Forum

 

14:05–14:20

FAO, Messaging from Global Fire Hub

Peter Moore, FAO

14:20–14:35

Not for Profit Mission for Data: Earth Fire Alliance

Sean Triplett, Earth Fire Alliance

14:35–14:50

Google AI collaborative: Wildland Fires

David Saah, Google AI Collaborative

14:50–15:05

Forest Fire Risk Mitigation in Action: Experiences, Capacity Building, and Strategic Partnerships

Sunpil Jin, AFoCO, Korea

15:05–15:45

Panel discussion and Q&A

Associate Professor Ercan Oktan, KT University, Türkiye

Natia Iordanishvili, Georgia

Bayrammyrat Durdyyev ,Turkmenistan

Country Delegation Reactions & Wrap-Up

15:45–16:15

Chai and Coffe

Closing and Next Steps (16:15–17:15)

Total Time: 60 min

Time

Presentation

Speaker | Institution

16:15–17:15

Turning Insight into Action

This closing session distills key findings from the workshop, highlights successful approaches, and outlines next steps for collaboration and implementation.

Ibrahim Yüzer, OGM

 

Sanjay Srivastava, World Bank

 

Mr. Ovezgeldi Goshjanov, Deputy Minister, Environment Protection, Turkmenistan

Day 3: Wednesday, June 18 (Optional)

10:00–11:30

Visit to OGM Fire Management Command Center

General Directorate of Forestry, Türkiye

 

This event is supported by the Korea Green Growth Trust Fund (KGGTF), a partnership between the World Bank Group (WBG) and the Republic of Korea.

Find out more: www.wbgkggtf.org  

Türkiye Climate Resilient Forests Project

FAQs

Yes. Please use the Sign Up button to register. This confirms your attendance for either the in-person event or access to the livestream. Once registered, you’ll receive an email with event access details, location or login instructions, and timely reminders.

The event recording will be available on this page shortly after it concludes. If you registered via the Sign Up button, you’ll receive a follow-up email with a link to watch the replay and access any resources shared during the event.