Policy Proposal: Active Fuel Management and Integrated Prevention Strategies for Climate-Resilient European Forests
Prepared by Professor Dr Ciro Maddaloni for the Diplomatic Council
To: Representatives of he European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, the European Commission
Subject: Transitioning from Reactive Fire Suppression to Year-Round Preventive Forestry Management
1. Executive Summary
Summer wildfire seasons across Europe are no longer restricted to Southern Member States; they now threaten forest ecosystems across the entire continent. While EU emergency response mechanisms (e.g., rescEU) have strengthened suppression capabilities, emergency firefighting alone cannot solve the crisis.
This proposal urges the European Institutions to establish a comprehensive framework focused on year-round fuel management, biomass utilization, and technological surveillance to prevent high-intensity wildfires before they begin.
It is time to reconsider and reconcile biodiversity retention rules (Natura 2000) with strategic, controlled fuel-load management to ensure protection against extreme fires doesn’t undermine overall forest health. The primary barrier isn’t a lack of technology, but rather policy integration, regulatory alignment, and funding allocation.
2. Core Pillars of the Proposal
Pillar A: Fuel Reduction & Vertical Vegetation Structure Management
The intensity of forest fires is largely driven by accumulated ground fuel. Prevention must focus on disrupting the “ladder fuel” effect: the low-lying branches, dense brush, and unmanaged deadwood that allow ground fires to reach the tree canopy.
● Fuelbreaks and Buffer Zones: Mandate and fund the creation of strategically maintained, fuel-free buffer zones to interrupt flame propagation and provide safe access for emergency services.
● Mechanical Clearing: Support the deployment of specialized forestry machinery to clear understory biomass while preserving soil health and biodiversity. Draft guidelines that permit the EU-wide deployment of low-impact forestry machinery in high-risk zones without triggering lengthy environmental litigation.
Pillar B: Controlled Burning & Seasonal Biomass Extraction
● Prescribed Burning: Standardize guidelines and training across Member States for controlled winter/off-season burns to safely eliminate dry surface fuels.
● Biomass Utilization: Encourage the collection of cleared undergrowth, thinning material, and residual wood for use in local bioenergy, district heating, and composting facilities, turning fire hazards dry materials into sustainable circular economy assets.
Pillar C: Modernizing Local Forestry Economies
Historically, rural communities actively removed deadwood for heating and domestic use. Modern regulatory barriers often disincentivize or prohibitlocal stewardship.
● Sustainable Management Incentives: Update regulations to allow structured, sustainable resource extraction, empowering local communities and creating green jobs in rural forestry.
● Active Silviculture: Support active forest thinning and sustainable timber harvesting combined with biodiverse replanting, replacing vulnerable, stagnant stands with resilient, managed woodland.
Pillar D: Advanced Surveillance & Human Ignition Mitigation
Over 90% of wildfires in Europe are triggered by human activity (negligence or arson).
● Deploy integrated early-detection networks combining satellite earth observation, thermal sensors, and AI-assisted tower cameras.
● Enhance cross-border intelligence sharing and legal penalties regarding arson.
3. Proposed Next Steps
To translate these objectives into actionable legislation and policy guidance, we propose:
- Forming an Expert Consultative Panel: Engaging key experts in climate science, forestry engineering, rural economics and NGOs to draft precise technical guidelines.
- Integration into Existing EU Frameworks: Incorporating these prevention protocols into the implementation measures of the EU Forest Strategy for 2030 and funding pipelines like LIFE and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).
Conclusion:
It is proposed to focus on preventive resilience, instead of the civil protection framework which finds immense difficulties (and costs) to deliver rapid cross-border disaster responses as we have seen in the month of July 2026 across Europe.
It is proposed as well to reconsider the “biodiversity” protection regulations that forbid intervention in cleaning the forestry beds.
The shift from widespread local collection of deadwood to strict prohibition comes down to a fundamental conflict between biodiversity conservation and fire prevention management.
When policies were updated over the last few decades, environmental directives prioritized soil protection and biodiversity, often treating deadwood as an essential ecosystem component rather than a wildfire hazard. (see EU Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) & Natura 2000 Network).
Environmental rules to protect biodiversity are excellent in principle, however the fires that use accumulated deadwood as fuel during extreme droughts, ignite catastrophic fires that destroy the entire ecosystem (including the protected biodiversity).
It is time to reconcile biodiversity protection rules (Natura 2000) with strategic, controlled fuel-load management to ensure protection against extreme fires doesn’t undermine overall forest health.
From an engineering, technological, and industrial standpoint, Europe already possesses the tools and capability to implement large-scale fuel-load management across its forests, that would prevent or significantly reduce the disasters we suffered this Summer.
It is time to act and solve the problem before it becomes a serious problem.
