BELWIDAS - BELGIAN WILDFIRE DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS SYSTEM

Context and objectives

Given the low frequency of wildfires in Belgium, any scientifically sound, standardized and reliable data collection procedures for such events are missing, too slow, involved or of limited scope. Hence, Belgium cannot comply with the request from the EC to provide wildfire data (#events, burnt area, duration). Nor, and even more importantly, is there any scientific basis to build data-informed risk assessment, prevention and warning systems, or to reveal temporal trends in wildfire statistics in the light of climate change, even though an increase in wildfire frequency and size in temperate regions is projected. In order to increase Belgium’s preparedness in this respect, a reliable system for wildfire registration and analysis, as already in place in most other EU countries, is indispensable. For that reason, this proposal has a threefold objective: 1) Set up an accurate wildfire database for Belgium, 2) obtain a better understanding of wildfire dynamics in Belgium, and 3) compile up-to-date wildfire risk maps.