From November 18-22, 2024, four peers from Spain, Portugal, and Italy, selected by the European Commission, carried out an on-site mission in Land Brandenburg under the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) Peer Review Programme. Requested by the authorities of Land Brandenburg in cooperation with the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK), the review assessed wildfire risk governance and practice to provide actionable pathways for strengthening capabilities.
CMCC experts served as facilitators, leveraging experience from previous disaster risk management and wildfire peer reviews in Romania (2022) , Moldova (2023) , Greece (2024) , and Italy (2024) . The State School and Technical Facility for Fire and Disaster Protection of the State Brandenburg engaged national and regional stakeholders throughout the process.
This work has been instrumental in surfacing critical issues that demand attention. In Land Brandenburg - a German federal state with nearly 292,000 hectares of forest - the review led to a curious revelation: Not only were climate change and legacy land use part of the problem, but the presence of unexploded ordnance within the vast forest area also posed a significant challenge.
"These findings are significant because they shed light on hidden challenges and demonstrate how systematic, externally grounded peer review processes can drive actionable reform," says CMCC researcher Veronica Casartelli , who played a key role in the development of the assessment framework.
The report provides a comprehensive overview of Land Brandenburg's wildfire risk management system, highlights good practices already in place, and sets out tailored recommendations to bolster effectiveness. Designed to support mutual learning among UCPM countries, the findings and guidance are relevant beyond Brandenburg for regions across Europe facing escalating wildfire risk.
"UCPM peer reviews have consistently underscored the need to adopt a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach, ensuring strong vertical and horizontal coordination across institutions and sectors. Equally urgent is the shift from a suppression-focused model to an integrated, prevention-oriented approach to wildfire risk management, grounded in strategic planning, cross-sectoral collaboration, and long-term investment in risk reduction."
The Wildfire Peer Review Report for Land Brandenburg is now available online.
