24.10.2020. Every 24th of October the world commemorates the International Day against Climate Change, this celebration was established by the United Nations (UN) because of the great havoc being wrought on the planet by climate change.
According to the UN website: «After more than a century and a half of industrialisation, deforestation and large-scale agriculture, the amounts of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have increased to levels not seen for three million years». In addition, the United Nations explains that the effects of climate change affect us all and «if drastic measures are not taken now, it will be much more difficult and costly to adapt to its effects in the future».
The «Iberian Centre for Research and the Fight against Forest Fires» (CILIFO) project focuses on the fight against forest fires and their consequences for the adaptation and mitigation of climate change; within a framework of cross-border cooperation for the prevention of risks and the improvement of the management of natural resources in Spain and Portugal in the area of the Euroregion Alentejo – Algarve – Andalusia. CILIFO falls under Thematic Objective 5 of the POCTEP Programme: Promoting adaptation to climate change in all sectors; and responds to the investment priority, with respect to the POCTEP Programme, 5B: Promoting investment to address specific risks and ensuring adaptation to disasters and development of disaster management systems.
Prevention is one of the main measures to combat forest fires, and includes measures to raise public awareness of the problem of forest fires («social prevention»). Environmental education and awareness is a complement to environmental policies and actions. Without the active and committed involvement of all members of society, the environmental strategies carried out by public and private bodies would not be sufficient to meet the challenges posed by climate change. For this reason, knowing the mechanisms of fire, the way in which the extinguishing devices and the harmful consequences of these, is a fundamental link in the chain that leads us to its prevention.
23.10.2020. El pasado miércoles, 21 de octubre de 2020, se celebró el último webinario del Centro Ibérico para la Investigación y Lucha contra Incendios Forestales (CILIFO) en el marco de la #EUGreenWeek y el único ‘side event’ del proyecto en la #EURegionsWeek. El evento, que trató sobre la financiación de la Unión Europea para proyectos innovadores de lucha contra los incendios forestales y la protección de la biodiversidad, estuvo organizado por la Fundación Finnova, en colaboración con la Universidad de Córdoba (entidades beneficiarias de CILIFO) y la Diputación de Córdoba, entidad colaboradora.
Durante el evento se trataron varios temas: en el primer bloque algunos beneficiarios del proyecto hablaron de prevención, extinción de incendios forestales y protección de la biodiversidad; y el segundo bloque giró entorno al emprendimiento, la financiación y la formación comunitaria. En el siguiente bloque se celebró una jornada con la prensa, en la que varios medios de comunicación especializados en medio ambiente, sostenibilidad y cambio climático expusieron cómo colaboran a proteger, restablecer y promover la sostenibilidad y como colaboran a luchar contra el cambio climático. La jornada acabó con el último bloque, que se centró en la transferencia de bunas prácticas, se presentaron algunas de las empresas anexionadas a la aceleradora Firefighting Open Innovation Lab – CILIFO.
Según los datos recogidos, se estima que un total de 87 personas pudieron visionar el webinario de CILIFO en el marco de la #EUGreenWeek y la #EURegionsWeek (67 personas se registraron para acceder a Zoom y 20 personas vieron en evento en directo por YouTube). En esta ocasión, participaron 27 ponentes: un 3,7 % desde de México; un 29,6 % desde Portugal; y un 66,7 % desde España.
A continuación, se pueden leer algunas de las declaraciones de los ponentes que participaron en el tercer webinario de CILIFO en el marco de la #EUGreenWeek y la #EURegionsWeek:
Maria de Lurdes Carvalho, directora de Servicios de Desarrollo Regional de la Comisión de Coordinación y Desarrollo Regional del Algarve (CCDR), habló sobre el grupo de investigación de incendios en el Algarve.
“La misión de CCDR Algarve, en su área geográfica, es implementar políticas para el medio ambiente, la ordenación del territorio y las ciudades, el desarrollo regional y los incentivos para la comunicación social y brindar apoyo técnico a las autoridades locales y sus asociaciones.
Inmaculada Vázquez, de la Agencia de Medio Ambiente y Agua de Andalucía (AMAYA) de la Junta de Andalucía, expuso el proyecto CILIFO.
“Entre los resultados del Proyecto destacamos principalmente la creación del propio Centro Ibérico por la Investigación y Lucha contra los incendios forestales (CILIFO), el diseño de un plan de formación, a través del cual se adquieren capacidades y se acreditarán a los operativos que componen esos dispositivos de extinción tanto de la zona de España como de Portugal; el diseño de un plan de sensibilización conjunto sobre los incendios forestales; y la puesta en marcha de una investigación conjunta en materia de lucha contra los incendios forestales”.
Víctor Manuel Montoro Caba, diputado de Programas Europeos y Administración Electrónica de la Diputación de Córdoba, contó que tienen entre uno de sus objetivos que Córdoba se convierta en la primera provincia 100 % con movilidad eléctrica sostenible.
“Estamos en condiciones de ser la primera provincia de España en la cual podamos contar con una red de infraestructura de puntos de recarga de vehículos eléctricos en la cual al menos en cada uno de los municipios que conforman la provincia de Córdoba se cuente con al menos un punto de recarga de titularidad pública municipal.”
Francisco Rodríguez y Silva, responsable del Laboratorio de Defensa contra Incendios Forestales E.T.S. de Ingeniería Agronómica y de Montes en la Universidad de Córdoba, expuso algunas de las líneas de investigación qué están tratando.
“Uno de los logros más recientes ha sido el conocer la posibilidad de graduar el índice de dificultad de extinción, es decir, una herramienta pensada para poder hacer una evaluación pre y durante el momento de la emergencia. En contexto con el Proyecto CILIFO, trabajamos para hacer una versión en la misma línea, para conocer en las provincias objeto del proyecto de qué forma podemos tener un conocimiento dinámico de la peligrosidad en términos de comportamiento energético, lo que significa la dificultad para poder trabajar la extinción”.
Nuno Guiomar, investigador da Universidad de Évora en el Instituto Mediterráneo de Agricultura, Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo habló sobre de la evolución del trabajo realizado la Universidad de Évora para el CILIFO y las herramientas como Copérnico para combatir los incendios desde el ámbito científico-académico.
«La evaluación de la gravedad del fuego es un instrumento fundamental en el cambio de paradigma: inicialmente sólo consideramos la determinación de los indicadores espectrales clásicos (dNBR e RdNBR), en este momento añadimos más de ellos (BAI2 y RBR). En cuanto a la RBR, hemos introducido una innovación en la compensación propuesta por Sean Parks. Estamos considerando incluir variaciones temporales en los datos combinados Ludar/Radar…».
Pedro Arala Chaves, técnico Florestal na Comunidade Intermunicipal do Algarve (AMAL), hizo su presentación sobe la creación de brigadas forestales y de gabinetes técnicos forestales para combatir los incendios forestales.
“El Gabinete Técnico Forestal Intermunicipal (GTFI) y la Brigada de Sapadores Florestais (bSF) tienen la finalidad de aumentar la resiliencia del territorio promoviendo una nueva lógica de intervención en el territorio forestal, mediante la creación de brigadas forestales y oficinas técnicas forestales entre municipios”.
Margarida Jesus, técnica do Gabinete de Candidaturas a Fundos Comunitários da Cámara Municipal de Tavira, expuso la gestión de medios aéreos para la prevención de incendios en la zona de Cachopo y cómo ayuda a la prevención de incendios forestales.
“El Centro de Medios Aéreos de Tavira prestará apoyo en caso de desastre, no sólo en esta zona, sino también a todo el Algarve, Alentejo y Andalucía, sirviendo también como base estratégica para el desarrollo de campañas de sensibilización y capacitación específicas, para los agentes de Protección Civil y para la población en general”.
Victor Rosa, concejal de la Cámara Municipal de Castro Marim, explicó que tienen el proyecto de una escuela para combatir y luchar contra los incendios forestales en la frontera del Guadiana.
“El municipio pretende participar en una estrategia conjunta para la prevención y lucha contra incendios forestales, uno de los grandes retos de la Península Ibérica”.
José Chaparro, concejal de la Cámara Municipal de Monchique, habló sobre los proyectos que tenían en materia de prevención de incendios forestales en el municipio.
“Monchique tiene varias competencias a nivel de la protección civil y de la defensa del bosque contra los incendios forestales, existe en el municipio un pequeño helipuerto municipal con el objetivo de acoger medios aéreos de combate y primera intervención de los incendios forestales”
Víctor Salgado, técnico del Proyecto CILIFO en Fundación ONCE, dio una ponencia sobre la atención a la diversidad en la prevención y extinción de incendios forestales.
“En el departamento de desarrollo e innovación estamos mejorando una aplicación web progresiva, originaremos alertas accesibles de incendios en portugués y en castellano con atajos a aplicaciones TIC de contacto accesible con el 112 y así como informar otros peligros de bajo impacto como el desprendimiento de rocas, caídas de árboles, senderos inundados, etc.”.
Juan Viesca, director de Fondos Europeos en la Fundación Finnova expuso algunas de las convocatorias europeas abiertas el ámbito forestal.
“Dentro del programa H2020, concretamente dentro del Green Deal se menciona la lucha y prevención contra incendios forestales, este tipo de convocatorias financia a organizaciones sin ánimo de lucro como administraciones públicas al 100 %, que puede permitir la colaboración con otros países como Estados Unidos, Canadá, y muchos otros.”
Beatriz Camacho Ávila, directora de Ecosistemas del Plan de Innovación Regional Europa del Sur – EIT Climate-KIC.
“EIT Climate-KIC es una comunidad europea de conocimiento e innovación que trabaja para lograr una comunidad próspera, inclusiva y resiliente al cambio climático, basada en una economía circular de cero emisiones”.
Beatriz Toro, jefa del Departamento de Relaciones Institucionales, presentó el Boletín EuroAAA de la Junta de Andalucía.
“El boletín de la euroregión es bilingüe, digital y diseñado para informar sobre noticias de cooperación transfronteriza, iniciativas europeas, cooperación territorial en la euroregión, situar en la CTE al agente de cooperación de la Euroregión AAA, se gestionan proyectos de cooperación transfronteriza con socios de ambos lados”.
Antonio Villarreal, periodista de El Confidencial.
“Quiero invitar al consorcio CILIFO y a sus colaboradores a mandame los avances que se vayan desarrollando en el proyecto para tratar de informar de una forma mucho más directa, fácil y clara a la comunidad sobre casos actuales o históricos de incidencias con el fuego”.
Gustavo Gómez, director general de Acento Comunicación.
“Hemos empezado a hacer un congreso de pastores que ha tenido mucha repercusión y que hemos empezado a organizar junto con otra fudación, Fundación Mil Caminos, y su objetivo es que el mundo rural sirva de destino laboral para muchos jóvenes.”
“Los objetivos que tenemos son; conectar a los diversos actores que intervienen en la lucha contra los incendios, compartir conocimiento, experiencia y buenas prácticas; y difundir a la sociedad la problemática de los incendios forestales, la existencia de profesionales cualificados que los evitan y combaten y generar cambio de conciencia que ayude a prevenir los incendios”.
Pedro Pablo García, adjunto a la dirección de EFFE Verde
“EFE Verde es una plataforma global de noticias y periodismo ambiental de la Agencia EFE, el proyecto fue presentado en noviembre de 2019 y arrancó oficialmente el 21 de marzo de 2010 con el lanzamiento de la web www.efeverde.es. Se trata de un referente informativo pero también punto de encuentro de empresas, ONG, instituciones y todas aquellas entidades y personas interesadas en España en todo lo referente a la información verde.”
Lola Bordás, directora de marketing en la Fundación Finnova, presentó la 2ª edition – Firefighting StartUp Europe Awards (SEUA-CILIFO) 2020.
StartUp Europe Awards (SEUA) son una herramienta de innovación abierta de gran utilidad para promover el intercambio de experiencias, añadir valor al ecosistema empresarial y ayudar a las start-ups a crecer y posicionarse en el mercado. La Fundación Finnova – entidad beneficiaria del Proyecto CILIFO – apoyada por el Comité de las Regiones y la Comisión Europea, en concreto por la Dirección General de Comunicación y Nuevas Tecnologías (DG CONNECT), ya ha celebrado y puesto en marcha con éxito varias ediciones de estos premios; y está organizando los 2nd Edition Firefighitng StartUp Europe Awards (SEUA-CILIFO). “StartUp Europe Awards, desde el 2016 es una iniciativa promovida por la Comisión Europea e implementada por Finnova, apoyando el emprendimiento en toda Europa. El premio es un ticket de aceleración para el proyecto ganador. “Dentro del Firefighting StartUp Europe Awards (SEUA-CILIFO) “Impulsamos y apoyamos a todos aquellos proyectos que tengan que ver con la prevención, actuación y regeneración de incendios forestales”.
Alexander Pereda Rodríguez, fundador de La GIStería, expuso el Potencial de los SIG en la lucha contra los incendios.
“El mapa de incendios en tiempo real se creó en 2017 por el aumento de incendios, y me basé en los datos que facilita la NASA de su sensor VIIRS, que capta altas temperaturas sobre la tierra, pero no discrimina si esas temperaturas son incendios forestales u otros motivos. Este mapa significó un antes y un después desde la quema de la Cornisa Atlántica y tras este desastre aparecieron muchísimos mapas similares al que habíamos diseñado en La GIStería”.
Pedro Ruíz, director de Innovación en Integrasys SA.
“Desarrollamos una aplicación para el tracking (posicionamiento) y la comunicación a la hora de enfrentar el fuego, combinando varias tecnologías, como el nuevo sistema europeo de posicionamiento por el Satélite Galileo. También mezclamos nuevas tecnologías de comunicación para asegurarnos que en todo momento y en situaciones adversas siempre tenemos comunicación. Gracias a estas características los bomberos podrán enfrentarse al fuego lo mejor informados y posicionados posible, sin duda un gran planteamiento”.
Leonardo Rico Fernández, director general de Lluvia Sólida.
“Lluvia sólida es una tecnología que retiene el agua hasta 400 veces su peso en agua, y la colocamos en la raíz, gracias a esto la planta se mantendrá hidratada por semanas sin necesidad de agua o lluvia, tras ese período regresa a su estado original de granulado y se rehidrata con el próximo riego o lluvia, reduciendo la frecuencia de riegos. En cuanto a la lucha contra el fuego, lo que hacemos es arrojar el granulado ya hidratado a una distancia prudencial hacia el fuego, creando un arroyo de agua sólida, dejando que el incendio se apague solo, y tras estos incendios se reforesta con agua sólida de nuevo y puede salvarse en torno al 70% y 80% de las zonas reforestadas”.
Irene Carrasco Abad, estratega de Innovación Sostenible y directora general de Diagnosis Sistémica.
“Ante la problemática medioambiental de los incendios forestales de Andalucía y el Algarve planteamos una propuesta holística”. Dicha propuesta se basa en actuar con un enfoque a medio y largo plazo, focalizándose en la prevención, detección precoz y regeneración, evaluando y optimizando las aplicaciones sobre el terreno donde la implementación del know-how de parámetros concretos es clave para la consecución de resultados fiables.
Información de interés:
#EURegionsWeek:
La Semana Europea de las Regiones y Ciudades es el mayor evento anual con sede en Bruselas dedicado a la política de cohesión. El evento ha crecido hasta convertirse en una plataforma de comunicación y redes única, que reúne a regiones y ciudades de toda Europa, incluidos sus representantes políticos, funcionarios, expertos y académicos. Durante los últimos 17 años, ha hecho mucho para promover el aprendizaje de políticas y el intercambio de buenas prácticas.
La Semana Verde de la UE 2020 se celebrará los días 19 a 22 de octubre de 2020 y tratará
sobre naturaleza y biodiversidad. Tras la adopción de una nueva Estrategia de la UE sobre Biodiversidad para 2030 en mayo, la Semana Verde hará hincapié en la contribución que la biodiversidad puede suponer para la sociedad y la economía, y en el papel que puede desempeñar para apoyar y estimular la recuperación en el mundo después de la pandemia, creando empleo y desarrollo sostenible. La Semana Verde Europea es un evento convocado por la Dirección General de la Comisión Europea.
2ª EDICIÓN DE LOS CILIFO – FIREFIGHTING STARTUP EUROPE Accelerathon (SEUA – CILIFO) 2020
StartUp Europe Awards (SEUA) es una iniciativa promovida por la Comisión Europea, apoyada por el Comité de las Regiones y el Parlamento Europeo; e implementada por la Fundación Finnova en colaboración con StartUp Europe.
Se trata de una herramienta de innovación abierta para identificar start-ups innovadoras con potencial, capaces de resolver los retos actuales en el área de la gestión de incendios forestales. El objetivo es localizar a aquellas que ofrecen productos, servicios o metodologías que abordan las tres fases en la lucha contra incendios 1) Prevención 2) Actuación 3) Regeneración. Deben aportar una mejora de la eficiencia de los recursos en la actuación contra incendios; herramientas tecnológicas; sensibilización social; comportamiento del fuego; patrones espaciales y temporales del fuego; meteorología de incendios y clasificación de peligro de incendios; técnicas de extinción de incendios; detección terrestre, aérea y espacial; restauración; etc.
Destinatarios: emprendedores y start-ups con ideas/proyectos relativas a la lucha contra los incendios forestales en las 3 áreas de acción enmarcadas en el proyecto CILIFO: Prevención, Acción y Regeneración. Próximamente se comunicará más información al respecto de estos premios.
Accelerathon es un programa de aceleración de proyectos innovadores impulsado por la Fundación Finnova. Esta metodología de la Fundación Finnova pretende encontrar soluciones y financiación, a través de un sistema online de innovación abierta aplicada que reúne al ecosistema innovador en el sector medio ambiental, en el que la Comisión Europea trabaja en el marco del programa LIFE.
El proyecto “Centro Ibérico para la Investigación y Lucha contra Incendios Forestales” (CILIFO) se centra en la lucha contra los incendios forestales y sus consecuencias para la adaptación y mitigación del cambio climático; en un marco de cooperación transfronteriza para la prevención de riesgos y la mejora de la gestión de los recursos naturales de España y Portugal en la zona de la Eurorregión Alentejo – Algarve – Andalucía. CILIFO se enmarca en el Objetivo Temático 5 del Programa POCTEP: Promover la adaptación al cambio climático en todos los sectores; y responde a la prioridad de inversión, respecto al Programa POCTEP, 5B: Fomento de la inversión para abordar los riesgos específicos y la garantía de adaptación frente a las catástrofes y desarrollo de sistemas de gestión de catástrofes.
Con una duración de tres años (2019 a 2021), persigue, a través de los resultados previstos en sus actividades, constituirse como un Centro permanente para el impulso y desarrollo de la formación, la sensibilización, el desarrollo y la innovación, y la cooperación interregional en la lucha contra incendios forestales. CILIFO se está desarrollando gracias a la colaboración de un partenariado público-privado, liderado por la Junta de Andalucía y compuesto por organismos públicos de investigación, entidades de interés público sin ánimo de lucro, y administraciones públicas; y todos con el objetivo común sobre la lucha contra los incendios forestales.
FUNDACIÓN FINNOVA
FINNOVA es una fundación europea sin ánimo de lucro, con sede central en Bélgica-Bruselas, y oficinas y antenas en España (Sevilla, Valencia, Tenerife, Madrid y Vitoria), que tiene como finalidad principal la búsqueda de financiación internacional relacionada con la transferencia de nueva tecnología, la modernización, la formación, la innovación para administraciones públicas regionales o locales. Tiene como objetivo fundamental promover la cooperación internacional e interregional a través de redes y eventos, siendo sus principales campos de trabajo el medio ambiente, la energía, el cambio climático, la innovación y la mejora de la calidad de la vida.
21.10.2020. European Green Week (#EUGreenWeek), organised by the European Commission, focuses this year on nature and biodiversity. The Finnova Foundation, the entity which will benefit from the INTERREG-CILIFO project, prepared a localised event to form part of a week which will act as a milestone on the way to the Conference of the Parties (COP 15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity, in collaboration with the University of Cadiz, which is also part of the CILIFO project partnership.
Last Monday, 19 October 2020, the Iberian Centre for Research and Fight Against Forest Fires (CILIFO) held the third event of the CILIFO Project within the framework of #EUGreenWeek – it has planned another in Córdoba, on European Union funding for innovative projects to fight forest fires and protect biodiversity. The event was partially focused on the applications of unmanned aerial vehicles for the extinction and prevention of forest fires.
The highest number of visitors at Zoom was 60, however, the total number of people registered at Zoom for the event was 107 (but not all were connected at the same time).
During the session on Community financial sources for projects with innovative solutions in the prevention and extinction of forest fires and the protection of biodiversity, public entities intervened, such as the Directorate General of European Funds of the Ministry of Finance of the Government of Spain or the Agency for the Environment and Water of Andalusia (AMAYA) – Government of Andalusia. In addition, several initiatives were presented, such as the implementation of drones with thermal cameras to control the dead zones of the fires; or materials that hydrate and when thrown into the fire manage to extinguish a fire by themselves and at the same time increase the percentage of reforestation of the area after the fire has passed.
Below you can read some of the statements of the speakers who participated in the third CILIFO webinar in the framework of #EUGreenWeek:
Adrián Vecino Varela, technical advisor to the Ministry of Finance – Directorate General of European Funds.
«So far we have obtained these data with the aid we have received: 546,430 hectares are receiving conservation aid; 320,142.50 square metres of space in urban areas have been created or rehabilitated; 14,604.39 tonnes more of waste recycling capacity; more than 1.5 million people have benefited from protection against forest fires; and more than 1.5 million people have benefited from flood prevention measures».
Inmaculada Vázquez, from the Andalusian Environment and Water Agency (AMAYA) – Andalusian Regional Government.
«Among the objectives that CILIFO has, we can highlight the strengthening and pooling of cooperation, working procedures and training in the prevention and extinction of forest fires, promoting innovation to prevent large forest fires and improving the response capacity to forest fires on the part of the administrations and authorities involved in fighting them in the three participating regions».
«In order to give continuity to CILIFO, a new application called FIREPOCTEP has been submitted under the same heading, with the aim of strengthening cross-border systems for preventing and extinguishing forest fires and improving resources for generating rural employment, acting in the development, protection and promotion of the natural heritage, researching and innovating in the environmental field and improving the institutional capacity of administrations and the public sector».
Luis Carlos Barbero González, Professor of Petrology and Geochemistry and Director of the Department of Earth Sciences – Campus of International Excellence CEI-MAR of the University of Cadiz
On the realistic application of the drones on the ground in fire crisis situations: «the thermal cameras guided the firefighters very reliably to manage the fires by guiding them through the smoke, they should be used in fires that are not very large and in which the economic resources are rather high, in addition the monitoring and control tasks that the drones would have during rainy conditions should be improved».
Lourdes González, technical coordinator of the CILIFO project at the ONCE Foundation and technology and accessibility expert at the ONCE Foundation
«Through training and the employability of people with disabilities, getting involved in a project in which we promote universal accessibility, in which people with disabilities have no physical barriers to communication and technology. In addition, they carry out training so that if a professional meets a person with a disability he or she can evacuate them in the correct way, communicate with them, etc. And from November (2020), a 15-hour course will begin on what to do when interacting with someone with a disability».
Juan Viesca, Director of European Funds at the Finnova Foundation.
«The European Commission announced a new programme with 750,000 million euros to replace the crisis and propose new solutions, within which there is the REACT UE programme, a programme that could complement the structural funds with 50,000 million euros. In addition, there is a specific call for the fight and prevention of forest fires as part of the Green Deal call for innovative proposals that ends in January 21, which is a very good opportunity for the speakers at this webinar to be financed by this type of programme».
Alberto Navarro, Director of Projects, Human Resources and Training at the Finnova Foundation.
Alberto presented two E-learning platforms available within the CILIFO Project to the attendees, with innovations such as gamification processes, encouraging interaction through the website with the students, with mini-games and as the course progresses: «a city is created, comparing the construction of a city with the training that is gradually taking place in each of the students».
Yolanda Marín, European Projects Technician at the Finnova Foundation
«Within the Firefighting Open Innovation Lab – CILIFO accelerator, we offer a working space, pilot tests, European funding, European projects, partner search and legal advice. In addition, work is currently underway on a catalogue to include an article by each company on how to fight forest fires and to provide information on companies if interested».
José María Gómez, Chief Financial Officer of Drone Hopper
«Our mission is to develop all the aeronautical platforms and aircraft so that we can consolidate ourselves as a reference in this field and, above all, we want to solve the problem of fire and fire-fighting. Our solution is to offer our services to work 24/7 and try to minimize risks regarding fire fighting».
«Scodev’s idea is a device by which conventional aircraft could assist in fire-fighting, allowing a common aircraft to collect water from the sea, a river or a lake at a height of 50 feet and pour it over the affected area up to 5 times per hour. This method will expand the resources of any municipality in using fire-fighting tools.
Pedro Ruíz, Director of Innovation at Integrasys SA
«We developed an application for tracking (positioning) and communication when facing fire, combining several technologies, such as the new European satellite positioning system Galileo. We are also mixing new communication technologies to ensure that we always have communication at all times and in adverse situations». Thanks to these features, firefighters will be able to face the fire as well informed and positioned as possible, which is certainly a great approach.
Leonardo Rico Fernández, General Manager of Lluvia Sólida.
«Lluvia Sólida» is a technology that retains water up to 400 times its weight in water, and we place it at the root, thanks to this the plant will remain hydrated for weeks without the need for water or rain, after which it returns to its original granulated state and is rehydrated with the next watering or rain, reducing the frequency of watering. As far as fire fighting is concerned, what we do is throw the already hydrated granulate at a prudent distance from the fire, creating a stream of solid water, leaving the fire to go out by itself, and after these fires it is reforested with solid water again and can be saved in around 70% to 80% of the reforested areas».
Alberto López Casillas technician from the Department of European Affairs, Energy and Tourism of Ávila Provincial Council.
«The aim of the GEFRECON project is to reduce the risk of forest fires in the POCTEP territory by developing and implementing joint plans to raise awareness among other types of actors, so that this type of case can be managed jointly and damage can be minimised. The first of these tools is a GIS (Geographical Information System) in which a landowner or municipality can select an area in which they intend to analyse the potential for use of biomass and the cost of extracting this biomass and taking it to a transformation centre».
Lola Bordás Marketing Director at the Finnova Foundation.
The StartUp Europe Awards (SEUA) are a very useful open innovation tool to promote the exchange of experiences, add value to the business ecosystem and help start-ups to grow and position themselves in the market. The Finnova Foundation – the beneficiary of the CILIFO Project – supported by the Committee of the Regions and the European Commission, specifically by the Directorate General for Communication and New Technologies (DG CONNECT), has already celebrated and successfully launched several editions of these awards; and is organising the 2nd Edition Firefighitng StartUp Europe Awards (SEUA-CILIFO). «The StartUp Europe Awards, from 2016 onwards, is an initiative promoted by the European Commission and implemented by Finnova, supporting entrepreneurship across Europe. The award is a fast-track ticket for the winning project. «Within the Firefighting StartUp Europe Awards (SEUA-CILIFO) «We encourage and support all those projects that have to do with the prevention, action and regeneration of forest fires».
The final ceremony of the Firefighting StartUp Europe Awards will be held within the framework of the European Week for Waste Reduction (EWWR), on Monday 23 November 2020:
«In Uffire we have an extinguishing backpack that feeds back the smoke from the fires, eliminating the oxygen through air expulsion. Right now we are already working on the third prototype of the product, making it more and more powerful. The rucksack, which weighs 9 kg and has an autonomy of 5 hours, can do the same thing as 10-ton fire-fighting equipment, which is a very advantageous ratio for the Uffire product».
12.10.2020. Spain’s National Day is celebrated every year on 12 October and symbolises the historic event in which Spain, on the verge of completing a process of state-building, begins a period of linguistic and cultural projection beyond European borders.
The Iberian Centre for Research and the Fight against Forest Fires (CILIFO) is celebrating it by committing itself to a cross-border cooperation area of the Euroregion Alentejo-Algarve-Andalusia by promoting measures in the prevention and extinction of forest fires in an area of cooperation.
With a duration of three years (2019 to 2021), CILIFO aims, through the results of its activities, to become a permanent centre for the promotion and development of training, awareness, development and innovation, and inter-regional cooperation in the fight against forest fires.
Its objectives are:
To strengthen and unite cooperation, working procedures and training between the Forest Fire Prevention and Extinction mechanisms in the area of cooperation.
To promote the creation of lasting and quality employment in the area; to reduce the economic cost of fires by creating a rural economy linked to the landscape.
To improve the response capacity to forest fires of the administrations and authorities involved in fighting them in the three participating regions.
CILIFO is being developed thanks to the collaboration of a public-private partnership composed of public research bodies, non-profit-making public interest entities and public administrations, all with the common objective of fighting forest fires.
09.10.2020. Next Wednesday, September 21, 2020, from 11:00h to 13:00h (CEST), the Iberian Centre for Research and the Fight against Forest Fires (CILIFO) will hold the fourth and last official delocalised event within the framework of #EUGreenWeek, and #RegionsWeek, an initiative of the Finnova Foundation, an entity that will benefit from the INTERREG-CILIFO Project, in collaboration with the University of Cordoba (the project’s beneficiary entity) and the Provincial Council of Cordoba.
The European Week of Regions and Cities (#EURegionsWeek) is an annual four-day event during which cities and regions showcase their capacity to create growth and jobs, implement EU cohesion policy and demonstrate the importance of the local and regional level for good European governance.
European Green Week (#EUGreenWeek), organised by the European Commission, will focus on nature and biodiversity this year. The Finnova Foundation, which will benefit from the INTERREG-CILIFO project, is preparing the third offshoring event to be part of a week that will act as a milestone on the way to the Conference of the Parties (COP 15) of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
The event, planned for 19 October in Cordoba as a semi-virtual event, is a seminar on community financial sources for projects with innovative solutions in prevention, extinction of forest fires and protection of biodiversity. During the seminar, financial opportunities will be presented for environmental projects in the field of forest fires, circular economy, protection, restoration and management of biodiversity and promoting innovative solutions to help mitigate and adapt to climate change. The CILIFO Centre will be presented as a case of good practice and the agenda includes the presentation of the new edition of the Firefighting Startup Europe Awards (SEUA) 2020.
Part of the CILIFO partnership, entrepreneurs, start-ups and spokespersons for public and private organisations and institutions will attend the virtual conference. Being part of the European Union’s Green Week is an opportunity for the CILIFO Project and the city of Cordoba to showcase initiatives and achievements in terms of prevention and extinction in the face of possible emergencies or fires.
The Finnova Foundation is part of the public-private partnership that makes up the CILIFO project, 75% of which is financed by the Interreg VA Spain – Portugal – POCTEP (2014-2020) cross-border cooperation programme. CILIFO acts to strengthen and unite cooperation, working procedures and training between the Forest Fire Prevention and Extinction mechanisms in the cooperation area of the Euroregion Alentejo – Algarve – Andalusia and is led by the Andalusian Regional Government.
COMMON CHALLENGES – SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES (SDS)
The aim is to meet the challenge 13 and 15 of the UN SPOs to innovate in taking urgent action to combat climate change and its effects, as well as to protect, restore and promote the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.
THE CILIFO PROJECT
The project «Iberian Centre for Research and Fight against Forest Fires» (CILIFO) focuses on the fight against forest fires and their consequences for the adaptation and mitigation of climate change; within a framework of cross-border cooperation for the prevention of risks and the improvement of the management of natural resources in Spain and Portugal in the area of the Euroregion Alentejo – Algarve – Andalusia. CILIFO is part of Thematic Objective 5 of the POCTEP Programme: Promoting adaptation to climate change in all sectors; and responds to the investment priority, with respect to the POCTEP Programme, 5B: Promoting investment to address specific risks and ensuring adaptation to disasters and developing disaster management systems.
With a duration of three years (2019 to 2021), it aims, through the results of its activities, to become a permanent centre for the promotion and development of training, awareness, development and innovation, and inter-regional cooperation in the fight against forest fires.
CILIFO is being developed thanks to the collaboration of a public-private partnership, led by the Andalusian Regional Government and made up of public research bodies, non-profit-making public interest entities and public administrations, all with the common objective of fighting forest fires.
FINNOVA FOUNDATION
FINNOVA (www.finnova.eu) is a non-profit European foundation, with headquarters in Belgium-Brussels, and offices and branches in Spain (Seville, Valencia, Tenerife, Madrid and Vitoria), whose main purpose is to seek international funding related to the transfer of new technology, modernisation, training and innovation for regional or local public administrations. Its main objective is to promote international and inter-regional cooperation through networks and events, its main fields of work being the environment, energy, climate change, innovation and improvement of the quality of life.
CONTACT: Beatriz Martínez Muñoz
European Projects and Communication Technique at the Finnova Foundation beatriz.martinez@finnova.eu
In the wake of promoting synergies between different regional, national and EU policies, one of the main objectives of this project (Interreg V A Spain-Portugal Program –POCTEP- 2014-2020) is to increase territorial resilience to natural risks within the cooperation area, specifically those related to forest fires. The Doñana Biological Station EBD-CSIC is involved, together with other public research organizations, in improving knowledge of the dynamics and management of fire to provide technological solutions and common protocols aimed at facilitating the work of the different organisms involved in fire extinction.
One of the specific actions is the monitoring and follow-up of prescribed burns. In the images, EBD-CSIC researchers together with staff from INFOCA (Junta de Andalucía) @Plan_INFOCA , IRNAS-CSIC @IRNAS_CSIC, INIA @INIA_es and the Doñana National Park carry out a survey and assessment of the plots where controlled burns will be carried out.
08.10.2020. European Green Week (#EUGreenWeek), organised by the European Commission, will focus on nature and biodiversity this year. The Finnova Foundation, which will benefit from the INTERREG-CILIFO project, is preparing the third offshoring event to be part of a week that will act as a milestone on the way to the Conference of the Parties (COP 15) of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
The European Commission has decided that the EU Green Week conference will take place this year in the autumn, from 20 to 22 October, with associated events taking place from 14 September to 23 October.
On Monday, 19 October 2020, from 17:00 to 19:00 (CEST), the Iberian Centre for Research and the Fight against Forest Fires (CILIFO) is holding the third official off-site event as part of #EUGreenWeek – another is planned in Córdoba – an initiative of the Finnova Foundation, in collaboration with the University of Cadiz (the entities benefiting from the CILIFO project).
The Finnova Foundation and the University of Cadiz are part of the public-private partnership which makes up the CILIFO project, 75% of which is financed by the Interreg VA Spain – Portugal – POCTEP cross-border cooperation programme (2014-2020). CILIFO acts to strengthen and unite cooperation, working procedures and training between the Forest Fire Prevention and Extinction mechanisms in the cooperation area of the Euroregion Alentejo – Algarve – Andalusia and is led by the Andalusian Regional Government.
The event, planned for the 21st of October in Cadiz as a semi-presential – virtual event, is a seminar on Community financial sources for projects with innovative solutions in the prevention and extinction of forest fires and the protection of biodiversity. On this occasion, the seminar will focus on the applications of unmanned aerial vehicles for the extinction and prevention of forest fires; in addition, the financial opportunities for environmental projects in the field of forest fires; the circular economy; the protection, restoration and management of biodiversity; and the promotion of innovative solutions to help mitigate and adapt to climate change will be presented. The agenda also includes the presentation of the new edition of the Firefighting StartUp Europe Accelerathon (SEUA-CILIFO) 2020.
The virtual conference will be attended by part of the CILIFO partnership, entrepreneurs, start-ups and spokespersons from public and private organisations and institutions. Being part of the European Union’s Green Week is an opportunity for the CILIFO Project and the city of Cadiz to showcase initiatives and achievements in terms of prevention and extinction in the face of possible emergencies or fires.
COMMON CHALLENGES – OBJECTIVES OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (ODS)
The aim is to meet the challenge 13 and 15 of the UN SPOs to innovate in taking urgent action to combat climate change and its effects, as well as to protect, restore and promote the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.
ABOUT EUROPEAN GREEN WEEK (#EUGREENWEEK)
European Green Week 2020 is scheduled on the theme of nature and biodiversity. Following the adoption of a new EU Biodiversity Strategy for May 2030, Green Week will highlight the contribution that biodiversity can make to society and the economy and the role it can play in supporting and stimulating recovery in a post-pandemic world, generating jobs and sustainable growth. EU Green Week will examine how EU policies, such as the European Green Deal, can help protect and restore nature, leaving room for recovery and prosperity.
EUGreenWeek will also act as a milestone on the road to the Conference of the Parties (COP 15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity, now planned for 2021, where world leaders will adopt a 10-year action plan for biodiversity: a new global deal for people and nature.
THE CILIFO PROJECT
The project «Iberian Centre for Research and Fight against Forest Fires» (CILIFO) focuses on the fight against forest fires and their consequences for the adaptation and mitigation of climate change; within a framework of cross-border cooperation for the prevention of risks and the improvement of the management of natural resources in Spain and Portugal in the area of the Euroregion Alentejo – Algarve – Andalusia. CILIFO falls under Thematic Objective 5 of the POCTEP Programme: Promoting adaptation to climate change in all sectors; and responds to the investment priority, with respect to the POCTEP Programme, 5B: Promoting investment to address specific risks and ensuring adaptation to disasters and development of disaster management systems.
With a duration of three years (2019 to 2021), it aims, through the results of its activities, to establish itself as a permanent centre for the promotion and development of training, awareness, development and innovation, and inter-regional cooperation in the fight against forest fires.
CILIFO is being developed thanks to the collaboration of a public-private partnership, led by the Andalusian Regional Government and made up of public research bodies, non-profit-making public interest entities and public administrations, all with the common objective of fighting forest fires.
FINNOVA FOUNDATION
FINNOVA (www.finnova.eu) is a non-profit European foundation, with headquarters in Belgium-Brussels, and offices and branches in Spain (Seville, Valencia, Tenerife, Madrid and Vitoria), whose main purpose is to seek international funding related to the transfer of new technology, modernisation, training and innovation for regional or local public administrations. Its main objective is to promote international and inter-regional cooperation through networks and events, its main fields of work being the environment, energy, climate change, innovation and improvement of the quality of life.
CONTACT
Beatriz Martínez Muñoz
European Projects and Communication Technique at the Finnova Foundation beatriz.martinez@finnova.eu
01.10.2020. Organised by the European Commission, the EU Green Week (#EUGreenWeek) will focus this year on Nature and Biodiversity. Finnova Foundation, one of the beneficiaries of the INTERREG-CILIFO Project, has organised a side event in order to take part of a week that will set a milestone towards the Conferences of the Parties (COP 15) to the Convention on Biological Biodiversity.
On Monday, 28 September 2020, the Iberian Centre for Research and Forest Firefighting (CILIFO) has held the second side event for the CILIFO Project in the framework of the #EUGreenWeek in collaboration with GoHub, the open innovation hub of Global Omnium.
The person charged of the opening of the event was Juan Sánchez Ruiz, director of the Regional Operational Centre (INFOCA) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Sustainable Development (Regional Government of Andalusia). He emphasized the importance of the reinforcement of infrastructures jointly used for fighting against forest fires.
In this second event of CILIFO during the EU Green Week, the vice-president of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety and Member of the European Parliament, César Luena, participated talking about the project that is going to be submitted to the European Commission to combat forest fires and preserve biodiversity. Among the measures, Luena talked about the post-fire recovery of the affected areas, the protection of freshwater ecosystems —such as restoring rivers—, the regulation of waters in order to avoid ecological disaster, the legal protection of soils, a specific plan for desertification and a European forest policy. His aim is to create a joint action plan for fighting against climate change and biodiversity.
In the first part of the event about prevention, extinction of forest fires and protection of biodiversity, Ana Lourido from the academic domain (University of Ébora) gave her insight about research and combating forest fires. ‘We have an opportunity to make a qualitative and quantitative leap in the fight against forest fires in order to progress in research.’ Afterwards, Javier Madrigal Olmo, senior scientist of the forest fire lab at the Forest Research Center of INIA spoke about the vulnerability face to forest fires and how science and technology can help prevention. As for Javier Cañas Andreu, director of Innovation Projects at EIT Climate-KIC, pointed that the increase of temperatures, the low rate of rain and the subsequent droughts are some of the causes of forest fires in Andalusia.
The topic of the second part of the event was funding and entrepreneurship. María Gil Cabrera¸ director of GoHub Andalucía, and Juan Viesca, EU Funds director de at Finnova Foundation, talked about financing at the European Union and innovative projects in the forest fire sector. It is worth highlighting that the European Green Deal call is now open for fighting against climate change and making Europe climatically neutral by 2050. Adrián Noheda, director of CILIFO’s Firefighting Open Innovation Lab, and David Páez Rodríguez, director de Business Development at the Technological Corporation of Andalusia, spoke about the opportunities for entrepreneurship at protected forest areas.
The event closed with the intervention of Alejandro García Hernández, deputy director of COR, from the INFOCA Plan (Directorate General for Environmental Management and Protected Areas of the Regional Government of Andalusia), who presented the project FIREPOCTEP. On the other hand, Gustavo Viera Ruiz from GESPLAN talked about the success cases on forest fire management.
COMMON CHALLENGES – SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGs)
The aim is to address the SDGs 6, 13 and 15 of the UN in order to innovate in the adoption of urgent measures to combat climate change and its effects, as well as to protect, restore and promote the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, fight against desertification, stop and invert the degradation of soils and stop the biodiversity loss. In addition, the availability and sustainable management of water needs to be guaranteed for fighting climate change.
CONTACT:
Beatriz Martínez Muñoz European Project Officer and Communication Officer at Finnova Foundation Beatriz.martinez@finnova.eu
29.09.2020. The European Green Week (#EUGreenWeek), organised by the European Commission, focuses this year on nature and biodiversity. The Finnova Foundation, together with Vilamarxant Town Council (Valencia), has prepared an off-site event to be part of a week that will act as a milestone on the way to the Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
The event held online on Friday, 25 September 2020, was a seminar on European Union funding for innovative projects to combat forest fires and to protect biodiversity.
The highest number of participants at Zoom was 34; however, the total number of people registered at Zoom for the event was 56 (but they did not all connect at the same time). In addition, it should be noted that the event was broadcasted on the Facebook page of @CILIFO.UE and had 112 views. However, it is estimated that a total of 169 people accessed the webinar (56 registered by Zoom, plus 112 reproductions on Facebook). One of the main objectives of this event was to address the UN SDGs 13 and 15 to innovate in taking urgent action to combat climate change and its effects, as well as to protect, restore and promote the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.
Francisco Senra, from the Knowledge Analysis and Management Area – Forest Fires and Other Environmental Emergencies Branch – Andalusian Environment and Water Agency (AMAYA) of the Andalusian Regional Government (Plan Infoca), was in charge of opening the conference and presented the CILIFO Project. Subsequently, Xavi Jorge Cerdá, Councillor for Innovation of Vilamarxant Town Council (Valencia), spoke as a representative of the municipality which was presented as an antenna of the Firefighting Open Innovation Lab-CILIFO.
The panellists who completed the block on fighting forest fires and protecting biodiversity and nature were the Director General of Forest Fire Prevention of the Regional Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development, Climate Emergency and Ecological Transition – Generalitat Valenciana (GVA), Diego Marín Fabra; the researcher of the Forest Fire Group of the National Institute of Agricultural and Food Research and Technology (INIA/iuFOR), Mercedes Guijarro; the manager of the Andanatura Foundation for Sustainable Socioeconomic Development, Julio Campos Vidiella, who spoke about sustainable development and entrepreneurship in the rural and natural environment.
Then it was the turn of the CMO at Finnova Foundation, Lola Bordás, who presented the accelerator/incubator of the Firefighting Open Innovation Lab-CILIFO project; and the project manager and head of human resources and training at Finnova Foundation, Alberto Navarro, spoke about training and young people at CILIFO. As examples of good practice cases Juan Sebastiá Porstalé from WildFire Security explained the SAVAIF system; and the CEO of Lluvia Sólida, Ing. Leonardo Rico Fernández, spoke about fighting fires with Lluvia Sólida.
The Director of Innovation Projects at EIT Climate-KIC, Javier Cañas Andreu, and the Director of European Funds at the Finnova Foundation, Juan Viesca, spoke about European Union funding for innovative projects in the fire sector.
The day ended with the presentation of the 2nd edition of the CILIFO – Firefighting StartUp Europe Awards (SEUA – CILIFO) 2020, an initiative promoted by the European Commission, supported by the Committee of the Regions and the European Parliament; and implemented by Finnova Foundation in collaboration with StartUp Europe.
Finnova Foundation is part of the public-private partnership that makes up the CILIFO Project, 75% of which is financed by the Interreg VA Spain – Portugal – POCTEP Cross-border Cooperation Programme (2014-2020), and will be the body responsible for bringing together two territories that are a priori far apart but which have many challenges in common. CILIFO acts to strengthen and unite cooperation, working procedures and training between the Forest Fire Prevention and Extinction mechanisms in the cooperation area of the Euroregion Alentejo – Algarve – Andalusia and is led by the Andalusian Regional Government.
2ª EDITION OF CILIFO – FIREFIGHTING STARTUP EUROPE AWARDS (SEUA – CILIFO) 2020
StartUp Europe Awards (www.startupeuropeawards.eu) is an initiative promoted by the European Commission, supported by the Committee of the Regions and the European Parliament; and implemented by the Finnova Foundation (www.Finnova.eu) in collaboration with StartUp Europe.
StartUp Europe Awards (SEUA) is an open innovation tool that allows companies to identify new talented start-ups, which are able to solve current challenges in multiple areas. In this sense, Finnova’s mission with this initiative is to help start-ups and scale-ups become more efficient, intelligent and successful.
In addition, SEUA aims to influence the scale-up process, so that it proposes a new innovation strategy through which new entrepreneurs go beyond their limits and develop cooperation with external organisations or professionals.
It is an open innovation tool to identify innovative start-ups with potential, capable of solving current challenges in the area of forest fire management. The objective is to locate those that offer products, services or methodologies that address the three phases in firefighting 1) Prevention 2) Action 3) Regeneration. They must provide an improvement in the efficiency of resources in firefighting; technological tools; social awareness; fire behaviour; spatial and temporal patterns of fire; fire meteorology and fire danger classification; fire extinguishing techniques; terrestrial, aerial and spatial detection; restoration; etc.
The aim is to identify and support these entrepreneurs and ensure that these good ideas are implemented for the benefit of society as a whole by generating a public-private partnership that leads to the drafting of projects and thus access to European Union funds.
Target group: entrepreneurs and start-ups with ideas/projects related to the fight against forest fires in the 3 action areas of the CILIFO project: Prevention, Action and Regeneration.
The first edition of these awards was held at COP25 in December 2019. There, the CEO of the start-up Drone Hopper, Ana Pérez, presented her project dedicated to the design, manufacture and marketing of high capacity drones, destined to the fight against fire and the protection of the environment. This company was the winner of the main award in the Firefighting-Climate Change category of the SEUA 2019 and is part of the StartUp Europe Accelerator programme of Finnova Foundation, thanks to which it received help and mentoring to present its project, and was thus able to obtain €50,000 from the SME Instrument programme (which accredits it as one of the most innovative projects at European level).
The second edition of the Firefighting StartUp Europe Awards was launched on Friday, 25 September and the final ceremony is intended to take place during the European Week for Waste Reduction (EWWR) in November 2020, in an initiative that aims to promote and implement sustainable resource and waste management awareness actions for one week and to encourage sustainable actions to reduce waste across Europe.
Further information on these awards will be communicated shortly.
CONTACT Beatriz Martínez Muñoz European Projects and Communication officer in the Finnova Foundation beatriz.martinez@finnova.eu
23.09.2020. The European Green Week European (#EUGreenWeek), organised by the European Commission, focuses this year nature and biodiversity. The CILIFO Project is holding several seminars to be part of a weeK that will act as a milestone on the way to the Conference of the Parties (COP 15) of the Agreement on Biological Diversity.
The European Commission decided that the conference of the EU Green Week will take place this year in autumn from 20 to 22 October 2020, with associated events taking place between the 14th September and the 23rd October.
On Monday, September 28, 2020, the Global Omnium Auditorium, located in the Seville Aquarium, will host the second event of the CILIFO Project within the framework of the #EUGreenWeek- two more events are planned in Cadiz and Cordoba.
The Finnova Foundation is part of the public-private partnership that makes up the CILIFO Project, 75% of which is financed by the Cross-border Cooperation Interreg VA España – Portugal – POCTEP (2014-2020) Program. CILIFO acts to strengthen and bring together cooperation, working procedures and training between the devices of Prevention and Extinction of Forest Fires in the area of cooperation of the Alentejo-Algarve Andalucia Euroregion and is led by the Government of Andalucia.
The event, scheduled for September 28th in Seville, is a seminar on financial opportunities for environmental projects in the field of forest fires, circular economy, biodiversity management and promotion of innovative solutions in water management to help mitigate and adapt to climate change, will present cases of good practices. This event will serve as a presentation of the FIREPOCTEP Project proposal, as an example of replication and exploitation of CILIFO results, which leads to the realization of the FIREPOCTEP Project. Finnova will be supported by GoHub, Sevilla Futura and the beneficiaries of the CILIFO project.
The conference (face-to-face / virtual) will be attended by European representatives – MEPs and/or European Commission officials -, entrepreneurs, start-ups and spokespersons from public and private organizations and institutions. Being part of the European Union Green Week is an opportunity for the CILIFO Project and the city of Seville to show the initiatives and achievements in prevention and extinction against possible emergencies or fires.
GoHub is the open innovation hub of the Global Omnium group, which manages the integral water cycle in 400 cities in Spain and is a worldwide reference in the sector. The hub, the first deep tech hub in Spain, provides through its startups disruptive solutions applicable to water, industry 4.0 and smart cities. GoHub promotes responsible and sustainable innovation with its different programmes and calls, including a project to turn Andalusia into an international hub for managing the water cycle in times of climate crisis through innovative solutions to real problems.
COMMON CHALLENGES – OBJECTIVES OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (OSD)
The aim is to meet the challenge 13, 15 and 6 of the UN OSDs to innovate in taking urgent actions to fight climate change and its effects, as well as to protect, restore and promote the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, manage sustainably the forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss. In addition, there is the need to ensure the availability of water and its sustainable management and sanitation in order to fight climate change.
ABOUT THE EUROPEAN GREEN WEEK (#EUGREENWEEK)
European Green Week 2020 is scheduled on the theme of nature and biodiversity. Following the adoption of a new EU Biodiversity Strategy for May 2030, Green Week will highlight the contribution that biodiversity can make to society and the economy and the role it can play in supporting and stimulating recovery in a post-pandemic world, generating jobs and sustainable growth. EU Green Week will examine how EU policies, such as the European Green Agreement, can help to protect and restore nature, leaving room for recovery and prosperity.
The #EUGreenWeek will also act as a milestone on the road to the Conference of the Parties (COP 15) of the Agreement on Biological Diversity, now planned for 2021, where world leaders will adopt a 10-year action plan for biodiversity: a new global agreement for people and nature.
THE CILIFO PROJECT
The project «Iberian Center for Research and Fight Against Forest Fires» (CILIFO) focuses on the fight against forest fires and their consequences for the adaptation and mitigation of climate change; in a framework of cross-border cooperation for risk prevention and improvement of natural resource management in Spain and Portugal in the area of the Euroregion Alentejo – Algarve – Andalusia. CILIFO is framed in the Thematic Objective 5 of the POCTEP Program: Promoting adaptation to climate change in all sectors; and responds to the investment priority, regarding the POCTEP Program, 5B: Promoting investment to address specific risks and ensuring adaptation to disasters and development of disaster management systems.
With a duration of three years (2019 o 2021), aims, through the results of its activities, to establish itself as a permanent Center for the promotion and development of training, awareness, development and innovation, and interregional cooperation in the fight against forest fires.
CILIFO is being developed thanks to the collaboration of a public-private partnership, led by the Government of Andalucia and composed of public research organisms, non-profit public interest entities and public administrations; all with the common objective of fighting forest fires.
FINNOVA FOUNDATION
FINNOVA (www.finnova.eu) is a European non-profit foundation, with headquarters in Brussels-Belgique, and offices and antennas in Spain (Sevilla, Valencia, Tenerife, Madrid y Vitoria), whose main purpose is seeking international funding related to the transfer of new technology, modernization, training, innovation for regional or local public administrations. Its main objective is promoting the international and interregional cooperation through networks and events, being its main fields of work the environment, energy, climate change, innovation and improvement of the quality of life.
CONTACT Beatriz Martínez Muñoz Técnica de Proyectos Europeos y Comunicación en la Fundación Finnova beatriz.martinez@finnova.eu
