Interreg Sudoe Use4Forest Project: the Basque partners’ contribution

Over the past decade, the Sudoe region (Spain, Portugal, and France) has experienced a significant increase in forest fires, placing this region among the most affected in the EU. This growing threat is linked not only to climate change but also to socio-economic factors such as rural depopulation and the decline of traditional land-use practices. As forests become increasingly unmanaged and climate extremes intensify, the risk of wildfires continues to escalate.

To address this complex issue, the Use4Forest project adopts a proactive approach to wildfire prevention. The initiative is built on three main pillars: understanding local environmental and socio-economic dynamics; designing and testing innovative forest use and management solutions; and promoting the transfer and replication of successful strategies across the region. By working closely with forestry experts and local authorities, the project aims to strengthen institutional capacity and encourage smarter, more sustainable forest management practices.

The project brings together 13 key partners from across the Sudoe area: 3 from France, 3 from Portugal, and 7 from Spain — including 2 from the Basque Country (HAZI and EUSKALMET). HAZI is the public foundation of the Basque Government dedicated to promoting the development of the forestry and agri-food sectors. The Basque Meteorology Agency (EUSKALMET) is a public entity that provides information on weather and climate, including operational fire weather and wildfire risk monitoring and warning at local level.

In this presentation, we provide a brief overview of the general objectives and planned activities of the project Use4Forest, with a particular emphasis on the contribution of the two Basque partners. In this context, we will present our specific goals, planned actions, and some preliminary results. The focus is on advancing the understanding of forest fires at the Basque Country level, not only in terms of weather-climate contributions, but also covering other key factors such as fuel dynamics and forest management practices.

Among other relevant activities, it is worth highlighting the analysis of successful case studies where socio-economic prevention strategies are playing a key role in reducing wildfire risk in Basque Public Utility Forests; the use of LiDAR point clouds and TLS/SLAM laser scanning technologies to analyze territory; the real-time determination of fuel characteristics (fuel moisture sensors, satellite imagery, …); the review and improvement of the Euskalmet wildfire risk index prediction system (dynamic fuel condition, ...); the development and implementation of advanced decision support systems that integrate risk indices, impact assessments, and fire behavior and spread modeling; the operational use of satellite products and other observational data applicable to wildfire emergency response; and the operational validation of local predictive systems, with a focus on end-user needs and the incorporation of impact data from recorded wildfire events.