The Firepoctep Avanza project, presented today in Lousã, is led by the Intermunicipal Community of the Coimbra Region (CIMRC) and involves 19 Portuguese and Spanish entities.

The initiative involves Spanish regional governments, intermunicipal communities (in addition to Coimbra, Algarve, Ave and Alto Minho) and universities from both countries, among other institutions.

In the presentation, the executive secretary of CIMRC, Jorge Brito, stated that the project, which extends until 2028, foresees around 50 awareness-raising actions, five thousand hectares intervened and several workshops, in an initiative that includes interventions in the Portuguese regions of Centro, Norte and Algarve and in the Spanish regions of Galicia, Andalusia, Extremadura and Castile and León.

The project aims to strengthen cooperation between the two countries, continue two other European Commission-funded projects, and improve prevention, risk management, awareness, capacity building, and response to fires on the border.

According to Jorge Brito, strategic management zones will be defined, where resilient ecological corridors will be created, and support work will be carried out with local communities.

Strengthening cross-border coordination, harmonising procedures, conducting joint exercises, training local agents, promoting innovation and technology in fire response, and specialised training are some of the activities planned in the project.

Jorge Brito stated that the goal is, at the end of the project, to achieve a better cross-border response to fires, better-prepared communities, and increased landscape resilience to these phenomena.

"Cooperation between countries is fundamental," he stressed, recalling that more than 2.5 million hectares were burned in the two countries between 2017 and 2025.

Given the increased risks caused by climate change, Jorge Brito considered that response patterns must evolve in various aspects – cooperation, technology, resilience, and prevention.

Present at the session, the Secretary of State for Forests, Rui Ladeira, stressed that fires do not recognise border or municipal boundaries, highlighting that, in the face of climate change, "the challenges are many."

To that end, he argued that it is necessary to "continue investigating," to support local authorities, "local active forces," and to ensure the best information so that "public resources are then well directed."

The session was also attended by, among others, the vice-president of CIMRC, Ricardo Cruz, the mayor of Lousã, Vitor Carvalho, and Nathalie Verschelde, from the European Commission (remotely).