The Wildfire Peer Review report – Greece 2024 has just been published with the CMCC as a facilitator of the review. As a comprehensive overview of the wildfire risk management system in Greece and key suggestions for improving resilience against wildfire risk – that can be extended to other countries and regions – it is of interest to the general public, policy makers and practitioners alike.  

On June 20, 2024, the Director General for the European Commission’s Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO), Maciej Popowski, officially handed-over the Wildfire Peer Review report – Greece 2024 to the Greek authorities during a high-level workshop in Athens.

The report is the result of a thematic peer review focused on the wildfire risk management system of Greece, implemented under the UCPM (Union Civil Protection Mechanism) Peer review program.

The General Secretariat of Civil Protection, Ministry for Climate Crisis and Civil Protection of Greece, requested a peer review in September 2023 with the aim to improve the country’s wildfire risk management system. The peer review was conducted by a team of five experts (peers) from different European countries with the technical and logistical support of CMCC and under the supervision of the European Commission. The peers, representatives from DG ECHO, and a team of experts from the Risk Assessment and Adaptation Strategies (RAAS) Division of CMCC took part in the on-site mission in Greece from January 29th to February 2nd, 2024, where they participated in multi-stakeholders meetings with public authorities, civil society organizations, academic and private sector entities.

“The report is the final result of more than six months of work, involving experts from different countries, the European Commission, and CMCC. Besides the list of good practices and recommendations that will be used by Greek authorities, the report is of great interest to other countries and regions within Europe and beyond in identifying resilience pathways against wildfire risk,” says CMCC researcher Veronica Casartelli, whose Wildfire Peer Review Assessment Framework (Casartelli V., Mysiak J., 2023), developed by CMCC, underpinned the overall peer review process in Greece.

“It was the first time it was applied and it proved effective in successfully supporting the review and drafting of a comprehensive and consistent report. The UCPM Peer review programme is an excellent tool to exchange knowledge and foster cooperation between experts and authorities with the final aim to strengthen DRM capabilities in view of current and emerging risks,” explains Casartelli.

The final report includes insights from the on-site mission, highlights good practices and identifies areas for improvements within the wildfire risk management system in Greece, as well as a list of recommendations to increase the country’s resilience against wildfire risk.

“The core results of a peer review report are the list of strengths identified in the Country under review and of recommendations identified by the authors to help the country in improving its system. Although focused on Greece, those recommendations are of high interest for other countries and regions working in the field of disaster risk management and climate change adaptation,” says Casartelli.

The Wildfire Peer Review report – Greece 2024 is published on the website of the European Commission and the UCPM Knowledge Network platform.

The report is part of a set of other reports (Romania, 2022, and Moldova, 2023) drafted with the technical support of CMCC under the 2020-2024 UCPM Peer Review Programme cycle.

For more information:

• Wildfire Peer Review report Greece 2024
• European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations – UCPM Peer review programme
• Peer Review of the Disaster Risk Management project – CMCC
• GREECE: thematic peer review on wildfire risk management (factsheet)
• Wildfire Peer Review Assessment Framework (Wildfire PRAF)
• Peer Review Assessment Framework (PRAF)
• Peer Review Programme Guidelines
• Disaster risk management in Romania: a peer review to highlight good practices and areas of improvement
• The Peer Review report “Romania 2023”
• Disaster risk management in the Republic of Moldova: sharing good practices and highlighting areas of improvement