Categoría: CILIFO

17.07.2020. In 2006, the Cortes of Castilla-La Mancha approved in an extraordinary plenary session a law establishing July 17th of each year as the Day of the Environmental Ombudsman, in homage to the eleven forest firemen who lost their lives while fighting the fire declared in 2005 in the Duchy of Medinaceli (Guadalajara).

This day is a day of reflection that promotes awareness of environmental care and responsible action in forest areas. Law 2/2006, of 17 July, established the celebration of this day in the region of Castilla-La Mancha, «with the aim of expressing the gratitude of the Castilian-La Mancha society towards all the people who have given their lives in defence of the environment, and for those who fight every day to contribute to the improvement and protection of our natural heritage», as stated in the law.

In this sense, 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 risk prevention and improved management of natural resources in Spain and Portugal in the area of the Euroregion Alentejo – Algarve – Andalusia. CILIFO is framed in the 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.

13.07.2020. Portugal bans smoking in all forest areas in the country, with penalties of up to 60,000 euros, in order to prevent forest fires.

The ban will last 92 days, within the «critical period» for forest fires that began on July 1 and will end on September 30 as part of the Forest Fire Defence System.

During the entire period, special measures and actions will be applied to prevent forest fires when exceptional weather conditions require it. The Portuguese authorities, both state and municipal, make very clear to their citizens the motto: «Civil protection starts with you and yours».

Forest fires are a growing threat throughout Europe, particularly in Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and Greece. This is because there are more fire-prone areas, a longer forest casualty season and, in general, larger and more destructive fires. Consequently, conventional means of action on forest fires are insufficient and finding new solutions is a key priority.

In all rural forest areas, it is prohibited to «make any kind of fire» and to «carry out controlled burns for the renewal of grazing or the elimination of stubble, as well as the use of fire in rural and forest areas to burn agricultural and forest residues».

It will not be permitted to «drive tractors, machinery and heavy transport vehicles that do not have one or two 6-kilogram fire extinguishers (depending on the weight of the machinery, which is less than or more than 10 tons), spark arresting systems and flame covers on the exhaust pipes or chimneys».

Those who violate the regulations during the «critical period» can be fined from 140 to 5,000 euros when the violation is committed by individuals and from 800 to 60,000 for legal entities. It warns that «in case of causing a fire, it can incur in a forest fire crime» according to Law 56 of November 15, 2011 of the Portuguese Republic.

 

07.07.2020. EU Green Week 2020, organised by the European Union, will focus on nature and biodiversity. Around the world, biodiversity is disappearing as a result of the unsustainability of much human activity.

The Iberian Centre for Research and Fight against Forest Fires (CILIFO) will be part of the EU Green Week, through the Finnova Foundation in collaboration with the University of Cordoba, the University of Cadiz (beneficiaries of the CILIFO project), GoHub and the city of Villamarxant (Valencia). These are the events approved by the European Commission within the framework of European Green Week 2020.

• Monday, 28th September 2020): CILIFO PROJECT. SEMINAR I) ON COMMUNITY FUNDING SOURCES FOR PROJECTS WITH INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS IN THE FIELD OF WATER FOR THE PREVENTION AND EXTINCTION OF FOREST FIRES; AND BIODIVERSITY PROTECTION (Seville, Spain).
• Monday 19th October 2020: CILIFO PROJECT. SEMINAR II) ON COMMUNITY FUNDING SOURCES FOR PROJECTS WITH INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR THE PREVENTION AND EXTINCTION OF FOREST FIRES; AND BIODIVERSITY PROTECTION (Cádiz, Spain).
• Wednesday 21st October 2020: CILIFO PROJECT. SEMINAR III) ON COMMUNITY FUNDING SOURCES FOR PROJECTS WITH INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR THE PREVENTION AND EXTINCTION OF FOREST FIRES; AND BIODIVERSITY PROTECTION (Córdoba, Spain)
• Friday 25 September 2020). CILIFO PROJECT – SEMINAR ON COMMUNITY FUNDING FOR INNOVATIVE PROJECTS TO FIGHT FOREST FIRES AND PROTECT BIODIVERSITY. Vilamarxant as an antenna of the CILIFO project (Firefighting Open Innovation Lab) and presentation of the 2nd edition of the Firefighting Startup Europe Awards (SEUA) 2020 (Villamarxant, Valencia, Spain).

During the EU Green Week 2020, he will highlight the contribution that biodiversity makes to society and the economy, and the role that it can play in supporting and stimulating recovery in a post-pandemic world, generating jobs and sustainable growth. Recovery is an opportunity for a new beginning, knowing that transformational change is possible. It is an opportunity to rethink our relationship with nature, to reconsider the activities that are driving biodiversity loss and the wider ecological crisis, and to weigh the implications for our economy and society. EU Green Week will examine how EU policies, such as the European Green Deal, can help protect and restore nature, leaving room for it to recover and prosper. This year’s Green Week 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.

It is planned to explore possible avenues for change and examine EU policies, such as the European Green Deal, that can help protect, restore and sustainably manage nature, leaving space for it to recover and thrive. This year’s Green Week is a milestone on the road to COP15-CBD («15th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations to the Convention on Biological Diversity») in Kunming, China, in October 2020, where world leaders would adopt a new 10-year action plan to combat climate change. In this sense, CILIFO (Iberian Centre for Research and Fight against Forest Fires), as a project that seeks to adapt to and mitigate climate change, had planned a training action focused on attracting European funds for climate change mitigation and adaptation.

For more information, contact the Finnova Foundation (beatriz.martinez@finnova.eu)

 

 

 

 

The Iberian Centre for Research and Fight against Forest Fires (CILIFO) organized the Accelerathon on the prevention and extinction of forest fires and the recovery of the habitat in a burnt area, promoted by the Finnova Foundation, as the beneficiary of the project. The final of the Accelerathon – CILIFO was held on Wednesday 01 July 2020 with the participation of the jury and the five finalist teams.

Below you can see again the final ceremony of the Accelerathon – CILIFO and the interventions of the speakers.

Final ceremony of the Accelerathon – CILIFO

First speech by Juan Sánchez Ruiz

Director of the Regional Operational Centre (INFOCA) – General Director of the Environment, Biodiversity and Protected Areas – Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Sustainable Development – Andalusian Regional Government.

Speech by Pedro Muñoz Barco

General Director of Forestry Policy – Department of Agriculture, Rural Development,
Population and Territory – Junta de Extremadura.

Speech by Xavi Jorge Cerdá

Councillor for Innovation, Vilamarxant Town Council (Valencia).

Speech by Francisco José Gutiérrez Cardo

Councillor and delegate for Economic Dynamisation and Employment of the City Council of Coria del Río (Seville).

TEAM 1: Circular economy for forest fire prevention

Presents, HyperIN,S.L: Thermal, acoustic and fireproof insulation material from raw materials of plant origin such as rice straw, avoiding CO2 emissions that are produced during its burning. Circular economy.

TEAM 2: New technologies for extinguishing forest fires

Presenta Irene Carrasco (ICA): Nueva Tecnología de Combate a incendios forestales SIN Presented by Irene Carrasco (ICA): New Technology to Combat Forest Fires WITHOUT WATER and WITHOUT CHEMICALS Products that use CO2 from forest fire smoke to interrupt the combustion process. The process is developed and patented, does not consume water or chemicals and will last more than 5 hours before it needs to recharge the battery. No chemicals are consumed or released by the device nor does it generate extra CO2, it only uses CO2 already generated by the fire.

TEAM 4: Forest Fire Prevention and TEAM 5: Drones and unmanned vehicles applied to forest fires

Presented by David Vinué Visús (Universitat Politècnica de València – TEAM 4): Operational Risk Index with analysis of the surface at a strategic level (one week) and operational level (for the service office).

Presented by David Ortiz (UVAWorks – TEAM 5): scaling of the prototype aircraft for the ETHON extinguishing aid, with thermal camera and sensor dispersion.

Speakers:

Xavi Jorge Cerdá, Councillor for Innovation, Vilamarxant Town Council (Valencia).

Pedro Cordeiro Arala Chaves, Florestal Technician from the Algarve Intermunicipal Community (AMAL).

TEAM 6: Recovery of habitats after forest fires

Second intervention of Juan Sánchez Ruiz – Announcement of the winning project TEAM 5: Drones and unmanned vehicles applied to forest fires

Speakers:

Juan Sánchez Ruíz: Director of the Regional Operations Centre (INFOCA) – Directorate-General for the Environment, Biodiversity and Protected Areas – Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Sustainable Development – Andalusian Regional Government.

David Ortiz: UVAWorks (in charge of the presentation of the winning project)

Juan Manuel Revuelta: general director of the Finnova Foundation.

Information on European Union calls for proposals open
LIFE – Climate Change

José Manuel Requena, International Project Manager at the Finnova Foundation and head of CILIFO at Finnova

European Social Fund – Social integration through employment and self-employment – Fundación Biodiversidad

Antonio Luís Moreno, European projects officer at the Finnova Foundation

European Union Funds – Internationalisation of Innovative Companies EIC – Fast Track to Innovation

José Manuel Requena, International Projects Manager at the Finnova Foundation and responsible for CILIFO at Finnova in the absence of Adrián Noheda, Director of the Firefighting Open Innovation Lab – CILIFO

 

• Team 5 of «Drones and unmanned vehicles applied to forest fires» led by the Polytechnic University of Valencia, has been the most voted in the Accelerathon – CILIFO.
• Experts from Finnova will help the winner to write the project to be submitted to a European call for proposals by opting for a grant of up to 2 million euros.

02.07.2020. Team 5 of ‘Drones and unmanned vehicles applied to forest fires’, led by the Polytechnic University of Valencia and presented by David Ortiz from UAVWorks, became the winner of the Accelerathon-CILIFO yesterday.

The team was made up of the Research Technician from the Polytechnic University of Valencia, David Vinué Visús (team leader); the General Manager of CO2 Revolution, Juan Carlos Sesma Fraguas; the Scientific Director of Kowat Biomimetic Control, Paco Morente; the Managing Director of MTC Soft, S.L., Fernando Moreno-Torres Camy; and the external consultant of MTC Soft, S.L., Enrique Moreno-Torres García-Torres.

The Iberian Center for Research and Fight against Forest Fires (CILIFO) organized the Accelerathon on forest fire prevention and extinction and the recovery of the habitat in a burned area, promoted by the Finnova Foundation as the project beneficiary. The final of the Accelerathon – CILIFO was held on Wednesday 01 July 2020 with the participation of the jury and the five finalist teams.

The challenges posed:

• Prevention of forest fires.
• Extinguishing forest fires.
• Recovery of the habitat after forest fires

These challenges aim to identify innovative solutions, as well as to attract companies, public or private entities, start-ups or entrepreneurs who define their environmental challenges in terms of forest fire prevention and recovery.

The director of the Regional Operational Centre (INFOCA) – Directorate General for the Environment, Biodiversity and Protected Areas – Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Sustainable Development (Regional Government of Andalusia), Juan Sánchez Ruiz, opened the event. During the ceremony, broadcast live on Zoom and Facebook Live, each of the teams presented their project in a pitch and was given a double evaluation. On the one hand, a jury made up of 14 experts analyzed the proposals of each team; their assessment corresponded to 80% of the overall score. The remaining 20% corresponded to the more than 900 votes from the public.

After the jury’s verdict, Juan Sánchez Ruiz announced the winner of a European Accelerator ticket awarded by Startup Europe Accelerator to submit the project to a programme of the European Commission’s DG ENVIRONMENT and the project will participate in the Startup Europe Awards.

ETHON: Unmanned aircraft for forest fire management

The «Team 5: drones and unmanned vehicles applied to forest fires» project aims to provide up-to-date and accurate information on fire conditions without detracting from the capabilities of aerial and ground fire-fighting means. The management of forest fires involves a large amount of materials and equipment that must be coordinated with maximum efficiency, so the use of an integrated system is considered, including an unmanned aircraft with an optical flight camera, of which a fully functional prototype is available.

From this Thursday, July 2, 2020, until July 14, 2020, the experts in European funds of the Finnova Foundation will mentor the winning team to write the project and submit it to the program call.

The programme has the institutional support of the European Commission’s DG CONNECT and follows the indications of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

What is Accelerahton? www.accelerathon.eu

What is the StartUp Europe Awards? www.startupeuropeawards.eu

What is the Finnova Foundation? www.finnova.eu

What is Startup Europe Accelerator? https://bit.ly/2VqXLcL

CONTACTS:

Beatriz Martínez Muñoz (European Projects and Communication Officer at Finnova)

beatriz.martinez@finnova.eu

Adrian Noheda (European Project Manager at Finnova)

adrian.noheda@finnova.eu

• If you have a challenge or innovative idea, you can still participate in the open innovation competition.

22.06.20. The Finnova Foundation, as the beneficiary of the Iberian Centre for Research and the Fight against Forest Fires (CILIFO), is organising the Accelerathon on the prevention and extinction of forest fires and the recovery of the habitat in a burnt area.

The aim of this initiative is to promote innovative challenges and be able to apply them to the real world of forest fire prevention, extinction and recovery through European funding. Furthermore, thanks to this tool, the CILIFO project and the progress of the project developed by the beneficiaries in the territory of the cross-border region of Alentejo-Algarve-Andalusia are given visibility.

Accelerathon-CILIFO also promotes networking and open innovation through the project’s incubator, the «Firefighting Open Innovation Lab – CILIFO». CILIFO’s accelerator will be able to capture innovative solutions to common challenges that will be eligible for EU funds, through open calls such as the LIFE Environment Programme call.

The teams are as follows:

TEAM 1: Circular Economy for Fire Prevention

1. Ana Blasco – HyperIN,S.L
2. Jordi Aura Estevan – AURES TI CONSULTORS, S.L.
3. Sebastian Shrady -Emergent Coal
4. Perla Adorno – Finnova Mercosur
5. Tapio Eerikäinen – Natural Resources Institute Finland

TEAM 2: New technologies for fire fighting

1. Gilson Batista da Silva – Uffire
2. Leonardo Rico Fernández – Solid Rain
3. Ricardo Gil Casanova – Nieblagua S.L.
4. Irene Carrasco – ICA
5. Juan Sebastiá Portalés – WILDFIRE SECURITY S.L.

TEAM 3: IoT for early warning

1. Wladimiro Arce Pérez – Cloudsensing
2. José Javier Dávila Fortín – Internet of Trees
3. Marcos Rodrigo Mardones Rojas – Private
4. Gersón Beltrán López – Play&Go Experience
5. Marta Castander – Student

TEAM 4: Fire Prevention

1. David Vinué Visús – Polytechnic University of Valencia
2. Agustín Aparicio OBC
3. Antonio Costa Ballester – Private individual
4. Pablo Corbalan Pelegrin – University of Trento

TEAM 5: Drones and unmanned vehicles

1. David Vinué Visús – Polytechnic University of Valencia
2. Juan Carlos Sesma Fraguas – CO2 Revolution
3. Paco Morente – Kowat Biomimetic Control
4. Fernando Moreno-Torres Camy – MTC Soft, S.L.
5. Enrique Moreno-Torres García-Torres – MTC Soft, S.L.

TEAM 6: Habitat recovery

1. José Luís Bustos Jiménez – BRIOAGRO TECH, S.L
2. Mario Cappalletti – Soc.Coop.ARCA di Como S.C.S.
3. Nuno Cavalho – Fundação das 500,000 Árvores
4. Gregorio Antonio Valencia Abrego – Ecotourism La Yeguada OBC
5. Sara Lago – EDAFOTEC

If you have a challenge or innovative idea, you can still participate in the open innovation competition.

How? By sending an email with your idea to beatriz.martinez@finnova.eu before Friday, June 26, 2020.

WHAT IS THE ACCELERATHON?

The Accelerathon is an acceleration program for innovative projects promoted by the Finnova Foundation. This methodology of the Finnova Foundation aims to find solutions and funding, through an online system of applied open innovation that brings together the innovative ecosystem in the environmental sector, in which the European Commission works.

To this end, there will be training, mentoring, a jury and some very special prizes, including the possibility of the winning project being submitted to a call for proposals, such as, for example, under the LIFE Programme: a project of up to 2 million euros over three years.

OBJECTIVE AND CHALLENGES OF THE ACCELERATHON

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 challenges ahead:

Prevention of forest fires.
Extinguishing forest fires.
Habitat restoration after forest fires

These challenges aim to identify innovative solutions, in addition to attracting companies, public or private entities, start-ups or entrepreneurs who define their environmental challenges in terms of forest fire prevention and recovery.

ACCELERATHON – CILIFO

Who is it aimed at?

Accelerathon is an innovation competition in which entrepreneurs, universities, technological institutes, business associations, city councils, industrial parks, SMEs and entities in general (public and private) from all over the world can participate, on the condition that they are committed to the challenges of the above mentioned.

A team competition with training: the competition of the different teams will be carried out with e-learning tools and with the methodology of European projects, a joint work will be carried out to obtain optimal solutions. Participating users will be able to take a training course on European funding.

Duration and prizes

The Accelerathon-CILIFO program will last approximately two weeks (from June 21st, when registration closes, until June 30th, 2020, when the final will be held). As a prize, a European Acceleration ticket will be awarded to access EU funds, to go international or to co-draft a European project in the field of CILIFO.

Download the Accelerathon-CILIFO roadmap here.

CONTACT US:

Beatriz Martínez Muñoz (European Projects and Communication Technician at Finnova)

beatriz.martinez@finnova.eu

Adrian Noheda (European Project Manager at Finnova)

adrian.noheda@finnova.eu

17.06.2020. The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought aims to promote public awareness of the issue, as well as the implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, in those countries affected either by severe drought or desertification, or both, particularly in Africa.

In 1994, the United Nations General Assembly declared 17 June as the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought. According to the United Nations website, desertification is caused by the vulnerability of dryland ecosystems, which cover one third of the planet’s surface, to overexploitation and inappropriate land use. «Land degradation towards drylands, and even deserts resulting from human activities, including climate change, affects approximately one sixth of the world’s population, 70 per cent of all drylands, equivalent to 3.6 billion hectares, and one quarter of the world’s total land area,» according to Fundación Aquae. That is why the Iberian Centre for Research and Fight against Forest Fires (CILIFO) supports the celebration of this day.

The project «Iberian Centre for Research and Fight against Forest Fires» CILIFO (0753_CILIFO_5_E) has a total budget of 24.6 million euros, of which 75% is financed by the Cross-border Cooperation Programme Interreg VA Spain-Portugal – Interreg POCTEP (2014-2020).

CILIFO is framed within Thematic Objective 5 of the POCTEP Programme: Promoting adaptation to climate change in all sectors. It also 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 (01/01/2019 to 12/12/2021), it aims, through the results expected from its activities, to establish itself as a permanent centre for the promotion and development of training, awareness, research and cooperation in the fight against forest fires.

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.

More on the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought: https://www.un.org/es/observances/desertification-day