- The event will take place online on Wednesday 24 November 2021 from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. (CET).
- During the occasion, international experts will present solutions for the improved management of forest and agricultural residues in order to reduce forest fires.
- The event will be an opportunity to learn about opportunities and calls for proposals for European funds.
Brussels, 15.11.2021
Next Wednesday, 24 November 2021, from 4 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. (CET), the online event “FIREPOCTEP Training Day. Exchange of good practices in sustainable management of forestry and agricultural waste” will be held. It is organised by the Finnova Foundation in the framework of the European Week for Waste Reduction. This event aims to show solutions for improving waste management in forestry and agriculture in order to reduce the risk of forest fires and their effects in the Raya area (border between Spain and Portugal).
This initiative (registration here) aims to create joint tools to facilitate risk management in the cross-border cooperation territory by capitalising on the results, knowledge, and good practices in forest and agricultural waste management. In addition, this training action is expected to reduce the risk of forest fires in the cross-border cooperation territory, as well as to contribute to the communication and dissemination of the results of the FIREPOCTEP project.
The calls for proposals, lines of financing, and programmes offered by the European Union for the sustainability of the project will also be analysed, from the perspective of experts in European projects from the Finnova Foundation.
The conference will be attended by international experts in the environmental field such as Inmaculada Vázquez, member of the Environment and Water Agency of Andalusia (AMAYA) and coordinator of FIREPOCTEP; Jose Manuel Requena, European project manager and coordinator of the FIREPOCTEP project at the Finnova Foundation; Héctor Juan Armas, FIREPOCTEP project technician; Francisco Rodríguez, director of the Forest Fire Laboratory (Labifuco); Sofia Martins, project manager at the Comunidade Intermunicipal do Baixo Alentejo (CIMBAL); Ana Luisa Abreu Alferes, senior technician at the ICT-Instituto de Ciências da Terra of the University of Évora, among others.
FIREPOCTEP works for an effective control of forest fires and addresses their consequences to prevent their occurrence from the base, through training and an approach oriented to the mitigation of climate change with emphasis on the rural environment. A set of 21 beneficiaries makes the project consortium, both Portuguese and Spanish. The project strives to improve forest fire prevention and suppression efforts in the cross-border region between Spain and Portugal.
About Interreg FIREPOCTEP (http://www.firepoctep.eu) The project “Strengthening of cross-border forest fire prevention and extinction systems and improvement of resources for the generation of rural employment post Covid-19 (FIREPOCTEP)” is within the framework of the fourth call of the Interreg V-A Spain-Portugal Cross-Border Cooperation Programme 2014-2020 (POCTEP). It is 75% co-financed by the ERDF Funds with a total budget of 5.6 million euros. With a duration of 3 years (01/01/2019 to 31/12/2021), the main objective of the project is to analyse the impact of climate change on the risk of fires and their effects on the environment of the Raya (border territory between Spain and Portugal). To this end, joint tools will be created to facilitate risk management in the cooperation territory through the capitalisation of results, knowledge, and good practices.
FIREPOCTEP will not only improve cooperation and coordination of fire-fighting forces, but will also be an example of good practices focused on the protection and promotion of the environment. This will allow the creation of employment and innovation in rural areas through training actions, supporting the local economy, and the conservation of the landscape.
About Finnova Foundation (http://www.finnova.eu)
Finnova is a foundation working to promote and to develop innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit across the EU. Based in Brussels and Spain, it works and engages in partnerships in all EU countries. Finnova’s experience in leading communication activities and disseminating European projects is coupled with an extensive expertise in creating enterprises and entrepreneurial support programmes such as accelerators, incubators, and events.