Date & Time
June 16 - 18, 2025 ET
- OVERVIEW
- AGENDA
- RELATED
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
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
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