Taming Wildfires in the Context of Climate Change

Annex B. Questionnaire

Responses to this questionnaire informed the five case studies undertaken as part of this project.

Part I. Wildfire policy and institutional frameworks

1. The policy framework for wildfire risk governance

Q1. Does your country have a wildfire risk management strategy? If so, could you describe its main objectives and orientations, as well as its geographical and sectoral coverage? Is climate change identified as a policy priority therein? Please specify and, if available, provide a link to the document.

Q2. Is wildfire risk management integrated into sectoral development plans (e.g. transport, energy, health, telecommunications, agriculture, tourism, other) and strategic climate change plans (e.g. national adaptation plans, Nationally Determined Contributions)? Please specify and, if available, provide a link to the relevant documents.

Q3. What, in your view, are the major achievements and persisting gaps in creating a conducive, overarching policy environment for wildfire risk management? Please specify.

2. Key responsibilities and co-ordination mechanisms for wildfire management

Q4. Is there a central, cross-governmental agency responsible for wildfire management? When, and with what purpose in mind, was it established? What are its roles and responsibilities? Please specify.

Q5. What are the relevant national agencies in charge of managing wildfire risks and what are their roles, especially with regard to:

• wildfire hazard and risk assessment

• wildfire risk communication

• wildfire prevention (organisational and physical measures for risk reduction)

• wildfire risk preparedness and emergency response

• post-fire recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction.

Please specify below.

Q6. What is the role and responsibility of subnational governments in wildfire risk management with regard to the functions detailed above? Please specify.

Q7. Are there any mechanisms in place to encourage and facilitate inter-agency or cross-jurisdiction collaboration or co-ordination on wildfire management (e.g. across ministries, between central and local governments, across different countries)? Can you highlight any particular achievements or existing gaps/challenges? Please specify.

3. Wildfire risk assessment, awareness and communication

Wildfire risk assessment

Q8. What type of information, if any, do you record on past wildfire events? If you answered yes, what type of events are recorded? To what extent is this information made public and accessible? Please specify.

Q9. Has climate change had a noticeable impact in driving recent extreme wildfire events? Has this attributing effect been studied and documented? Please specify and, if available, provide a link to the relevant documents.

Q10. Is climate change currently considered a relevant driver of wildfire risk in your country? If so, what climate-relevant information is considered in wildfire risk assessments? Please specify.

Q11. What is the level of availability, resolution and coverage of wildfire hazard maps? How often are they updated? To what extent do these maps integrate climate change projections? Please specify.

Q12. What is the level of availability, resolution and coverage of wildfire risk maps (i.e. maps including information on wildfire hazard and exposure)? How often are they updated? What are the prevailing challenges and gaps? Please specify.

Q13. Are projections of future wildfire risk in your country available? If so, what type of models are they based on? What is their time frame and resolution? Please specify.

Q14. Are expected demographic, land-use or economic development changes in wildfire-prone areas integrated into the projections of future wildfire risk in your country? If so, how? Please specify.

Q15. Are climate change scenarios integrated into the projections of future wildfire risk in your country? If so, how? Are there any studies on how climate change is likely to affect wildfire risk in the future? Please specify and, if available, provide a link to the relevant resources.

Q16. What are the tools and practices currently used to monitor real-time wildfire hazard? Please check all that apply and specify below.

□ fire weather monitoring and forecast (e.g. precipitation, heat, wind, drought, etc.)

□ fuel load and quality monitoring (e.g. vegetation mapping, fuel dryness, etc.)

□ fire outbreak and propagation monitoring

□ other (please specify).

Q17. Have wildfire risk assessment methods and practices in your country changed over the past 25-30 years to adapt to changing wildfire risk? If so, how? Please specify.

Q18. What are the key challenges and limitations in data availability, quantity and quality regarding wildfire hazard and risk assessment? What are the key gaps in understanding the effect of climate change on future wildfire hazard and risk? Please specify.

Wildfire risk awareness and communication

Q19. In your opinion, what level of awareness do different actors have regarding wildfire risk? Please check all that apply (1 = low awareness; 5 = high awareness) and add any additional details you might want to share below.

Land-use planning and management agencies 1 □ 2□ 3□ 4□ 5□

Forestry agencies 1 □ 2□ 3□ 4□ 5□

Civil protection agencies 1 □ 2□ 3□ 4□ 5□

Subnational governments 1 □ 2□ 3□ 4□ 5□

Citizens 1 □ 2□ 3□ 4□ 5□

Property owners 1 □ 2□ 3□ 4□ 5□

Businesses 1 □ 2□ 3□ 4□ 5□

Infrastructure operators 1 □ 2□ 3□ 4□ 5□

Q20. How is wildfire risk communicated to different stakeholders (e.g. government agencies across sectors and levels of governments, citizens, tourists, property owners, businesses, infrastructure operators, farmers, other) prior to wildfire events? Which tools and platforms are used? Are there any good practices you would like to share? Please specify.

Q21. What are the prevailing challenges and gaps in communicating and raising awareness about wildfire risk among governmental and non-governmental stakeholders? Please specify.

4. Wildfire risk prevention and reduction

Q22. What have been the key priorities with regard to wildfire risk prevention? Have these changed over the past 25-30 years to adapt to changing wildfire risk? If so, how? Please specify.

Q23. To which extent have these priorities been mainstreamed/adopted by different public sectors (e.g. transport, energy, health, telecommunications, agriculture, tourism, other)? Are there mechanisms in place to encourage their mainstreaming? Are there any good practices you would like to share? What are the prevailing challenges and gaps that need to be addressed? Please specify and, if available, provide a link to the relevant documents.

Q24. To what extent has the private sector adopted these priorities? What, if any, are the mechanisms in place to encourage the investment in risk prevention measures by private stakeholders (e.g. citizens, property owners, businesses, infrastructure operators, farmers, other)? Please specify and provide examples.

Fuel and forest management

Q25. What fuel and forest management measures and practices are in place to promote wildfire risk prevention? Please check all that apply and specify below.

□ fuel breaks

□ prescribed fires

□ vegetation thinning

□ forest management and restoration

□ restoration of natural fire regimes

□ other (please specify).

Q26. Have the above measures and practices in your country changed over the past 25-30 years to adapt to changing wildfire risk? If so, how? Please specify.

Q27. To what extent has climate change had an impact on the evolution of these measures? Do you expect it to have an impact in the future? Please specify.

Q28. Do these measures consider the ongoing and projected socio-economic development expected in wildfire-prone areas? How do they incorporate uncertainty? Please specify.

Land-use regulations

Q29. To what extent is wildfire risk considered in spatial planning and land-use decisions? What are the key measures and practices in place (e.g. banned or restricted development, zoning, buffer zones, regulated housing density, management of abandoned lands, other) to reduce wildfire risks? Please specify.

Q30. Have land-use measures and practices in your country changed over the past 25-30 years to adapt to changing wildfire risk? If so, how? Please specify.

Q31. If development is restricted in high-risk areas, is construction allowed in these areas when specific wildfire risk-reduction measures (e.g. firewalls, fireproofing of buildings, other) are put in place? Please specify.

Building code regulations

Q32. Are there building codes and standards in place that aim to strengthen buildings’ resilience to wildfires in high-risk areas? Is their implementation binding or voluntary? What is their level of adoption and how is this monitored and enforced? Please check all that apply and specify below.

□ requirements/restrictions on structural characteristics

□ requirements/restrictions on the use of materials

□ requirements on defensible spaces (e.g. buffer zones, fire corridors)

□ requirements on maintenance practices

□ requirements on reinforcement or defensive measures (e.g. fire barriers, fireproofing)

□ other (please specify).

Q33. Do existing building codes and standards only apply to new development or also to existing buildings? Are there any requirements for the retrofitting of existing buildings? Please specify.

Q34. Are there any requirements for wildfire risk reduction specific to the infrastructure sector? If so, how are they monitored and enforced? Please specify.

Q35. Have building codes and regulations in your country changed over the past 25-30 years to adapt to changing wildfire risk? If so, how? Please specify.

Q36. Are there incentives (e.g. economic instruments, others) to encourage private actors (e.g. households, property owners, businesses, infrastructure operators, farmers, others) to invest in risk prevention and self-protection? Can you highlight any particular achievements or existing gaps/challenges? Please specify.

Q37. Overall, how are local and traditional knowledge, experiences and practices (e.g. indigenous practices such as traditional forestry management, etc.) for wildfire risk reduction used? Have any particularly valuable practices been identified? If so, are there any mechanisms to encourage their uptake and integration with central government interventions? Please specify.

Q38. Overall, are there any nature-based solutions (i.e. measures that help protect or restore ecosystems) in place to reduce wildfire risk and impacts? If so, which ones? Please specify.

5. Emergency preparedness and response

Q39. Are there any early warning systems for wildfires in place in your country? If so, what is their quality and level of effectiveness? What are the prevailing challenges and gaps in setting up these systems? Please specify.

Q40. Have wildfire preparedness practices changed over the past 25-30 years to adapt to changing wildfire risk? If so, how? How do they incorporate uncertainty and extreme fire risk into long-term management practices? Please specify.

Q41. Are there any experiences or good practices you would like to share with regard to emergency preparedness and response practices (e.g. firefighting operations, healthcare response, evacuation measures, etc.) in relation to climate change (e.g. wildfires becoming more extreme, etc.)? Please specify.

6. Post-fire recovery, rehabilitation and learning for long-term resilience

Q42. Have any studies on lessons learnt been conducted after specific extreme wildfire events? If so, how are their findings used to inform wildfire policy design and implementation? Please specify and, if available, provide a link to the relevant documents.

Q43. What are the three to five most significant wildfire events that have occurred in your country since 1990? Have these events affected current wildfire management practices? If so, how? Please describe.

Q44. What practices are in place to ensure that future wildfire hazard, as well as exposure and vulnerabilities to future wildfire events, are reduced through measures taken in the recovery and rebuilding process after a wildfire? Are there any good practices you would like to share? Please specify and provide examples.

7. Financing for wildfire management

Q45. Who funds public wildfire risk prevention measures at the national, sectoral and subnational levels? Have the needs for financing wildfire prevention evolved over the past decade? If so, how? Please specify.

Q46. In your view, are the available levels of public funding for wildfire risk management (at national, sectoral and subnational levels) appropriate? Have the levels and types of funding changed over the past decade? Can you highlight any particular achievements or existing gaps/challenges? Please specify.

Q47. Who funds private wildfire risk prevention measures, such as those undertaken by infrastructure operators, businesses and property owners? Are there any public subsidies available (e.g. grants, tax credits, other) to support and encourage private actors to fund wildfire risk prevention? Please specify.

Q48. In your view, do private actors provide sufficient funding for their self-protection? Could more be done, and how, to encourage investment in self-protection? Please specify.

Q49. Is any international funding (e.g. European Union, other) available for wildfire management? Has this evolved over the past decade? Does the available funding provide for wildfire risk prevention? Please specify.

Q50. Are there pre-arranged funding arrangements (e.g. contingency/rainy day funds) available at the national level to fund public emergency response and recovery needs across sectors and subnational levels of government? How, if at all, have these arrangements evolved over the past decade? What has worked well or less well in funding emergency response and recovery needs? Please specify.

Q51. Is there a public compensation mechanism that reimburses losses and damages suffered by public agencies and private actors? If so, are the rules of this mechanism outlined? Are compensation payments dependent on prior wildfire risk prevention measures? Please specify.

Q52. Is wildfire risk insurance (public, private or semi-private) available? If so, what impacts and costs does it cover? What has been its uptake to date (e.g. percentage of households/companies affected by a wildfire that was covered by insurance)? Please specify.

Q53. In your view, how could funding for wildfire management be improved? Please specify.

Part II. Best practices in wildfire risk prevention

Please identify, list and describe any interesting or innovative practices that you would like to highlight on specific wildfire risk reduction practices. This can include any practice related to the above themes, such as wildfire hazard and risk assessment, wildfire risk communication, financing for wildfire management, physical or organisational wildfire prevention measures, or strengthening resilience during post-fire recovery and rehabilitation. In addition, any practices that highlight how lessons learnt are incorporated into wildfire risk management reforms would be of interest. Given the focus of the OECD project, we would be particularly interested in any practices that highlight how the effects of climate change have changed wildfire practices or how existing practices have adapted to the effects of climate change on wildfire hazard/risk. This can include existing policies and practices, governance mechanisms (agencies, co‑ordination mechanisms, etc.), or any relevant reforms (either proposed or implemented). Please be as comprehensive as possible in compiling this information, providing details on its benefits, the actors involved, the factors/past wildfire events that influenced its uptake, and how this practice contributes to adapting to changing wildfire risk. Please also add links to the relevant sources, where possible.