Periodic Reporting for period 2 - PyroLife (PyroLife - training the next generation of integrated fire management experts)
Reporting period: 2021-10-01 to 2024-12-31
2018 was a glimpse of the future: deadly extreme fires in Mediterranean and numerous wildfires in temperate and boreal regions. Traditional mono-disciplinary attitudes cannot solve this challenge: there is a critical need to change management paradigms from fire resistance to landscape resilience: Living with Fire. PyroLife trained the new generation of interdisciplinary experts in integrated fire management, through knowledge transfer between South and NW Europe and application of lessons learned in prevention of floods and other risks. Our unique integrated training program, crucially developed with industry, provided a total of 22 Early Stage Researchers the in-depth, interdisciplinary, integrated and transferable knowledge and skills required to complete their research and maximize future employability.
Individual projects targeted risk quantification (fire danger, vulnerability, extreme fire behavior, environmental and economic impacts), risk reduction (fire resilient homes, gardens and landscapes; prevention and governance), and risk communication (stimulating stakeholder and community resilience and preparedness). PyroLife is original for its inter- and transdisciplinary, intersectoral, cross-risk, and cross-climate approach to training doctoral students and tackling wildfire challenges, connecting 31 diverse organizations, from universities and research institutes, to NGOs, emergency services and industry.
Individual projects targeted risk quantification (fire danger, vulnerability, extreme fire behavior, environmental and economic impacts), risk reduction (fire resilient homes, gardens and landscapes; prevention and governance), and risk communication (stimulating stakeholder and community resilience and preparedness). PyroLife is original for its inter- and transdisciplinary, intersectoral, cross-risk, and cross-climate approach to training doctoral students and tackling wildfire challenges, connecting 31 diverse organizations, from universities and research institutes, to NGOs, emergency services and industry.
After a challenging start at the height of the COVID pandemic, the PyroLife project now officially ended after this second reporting period, in which our ESRs flourished and shined. Seven ESRs submitted their PhD theses and 10 moved to new positions or saw their positions being extended. PyroLife ESRs and staff involved published a wide diversity of research, often in collaboration with internal and external researchers, stakeholders and other PyroLife ESRs. A variety of spin-offs emerged from PyroLife, ranging from a new Master course on Pyrogeography and Integrated Fire Management at Wageningen University, to a working group on a diverse, equitable and inclusive future of fire research and education, and PhD and postdoc research on extreme fire behavior and the impacts of war on wildfires.
In terms of training and outreach, PyroLife organized network-wide training events on the natural human dimensions of fires, science-policy interaction and an integrative course on ways forward in integrated fire management. We are very proud of the ESR-led multi-author collaborative scientific publications that resulted from these training events: a global analysis on wildfire governance (Pandey et al. 2023) and a systematic review on the need to address suffering from wildfires to stimulate proactive adaptation measures (Newman Thacker et al. 2025). In addition to these training events, four workshops were organized, on fire management, stakeholder engagement, risk communication and changing policy. Finally, a series of knowledge dissemination activities were organized, including two international conferences, online trainings on the basics of risk communication and writing policy and management briefs, a range of webinars and other video contributions.
PyroLife is present on a series of social media channels (Youtube, Linkedin, Instagram, Twitter/X) with active involvement of ESRs. We estimate that during the project lifetime (2019-2024) PyroLife reached over 16 thousand people in the scientific community, 232 in industry, 1345 in civil society, one thousand in the public, 352 policy makers and one hundred media actors. A total of 37 peer-reviewed scientific papers have been published, with many others currently in review or in press. A recent high-profile call to action to adopt landscape fire governance was published in Nature by four staff members (beneficiaries and secondment hosts) involved in PyroLife (Stoof et al. 2025). The vision behind PyroLife and its approach has been published in the open access journal Earth’s Future as ‘Living with Fire and the need for diversity’ (Stoof and Kettridge, 2022).
In terms of training and outreach, PyroLife organized network-wide training events on the natural human dimensions of fires, science-policy interaction and an integrative course on ways forward in integrated fire management. We are very proud of the ESR-led multi-author collaborative scientific publications that resulted from these training events: a global analysis on wildfire governance (Pandey et al. 2023) and a systematic review on the need to address suffering from wildfires to stimulate proactive adaptation measures (Newman Thacker et al. 2025). In addition to these training events, four workshops were organized, on fire management, stakeholder engagement, risk communication and changing policy. Finally, a series of knowledge dissemination activities were organized, including two international conferences, online trainings on the basics of risk communication and writing policy and management briefs, a range of webinars and other video contributions.
PyroLife is present on a series of social media channels (Youtube, Linkedin, Instagram, Twitter/X) with active involvement of ESRs. We estimate that during the project lifetime (2019-2024) PyroLife reached over 16 thousand people in the scientific community, 232 in industry, 1345 in civil society, one thousand in the public, 352 policy makers and one hundred media actors. A total of 37 peer-reviewed scientific papers have been published, with many others currently in review or in press. A recent high-profile call to action to adopt landscape fire governance was published in Nature by four staff members (beneficiaries and secondment hosts) involved in PyroLife (Stoof et al. 2025). The vision behind PyroLife and its approach has been published in the open access journal Earth’s Future as ‘Living with Fire and the need for diversity’ (Stoof and Kettridge, 2022).
The project structured doctoral training by being the first large and integrated doctoral training program on wildfires globally, being a leading example for training of our future leaders. With an exemplary gender balance and diversity in industry and academia, PyroLife combined excellent research and supervision to make an impact on society and economy, through broad dissemination and communication.
PyroLife provided a stellar cohort of early career professionals with an amazing international network across science in practice, that has opened doors to our graduates and that will continue to open doors to our graduates for a long time to come. The project also had a significant impact on the staff involved, and their organizations. Collaborations in this training network have resulted in new teams being developed that for instance collaborate on new research papers and projects, such as the EU-funded projects FIRE-RES, SEMEDFIRE, FirePlay and Firelogue. As such, PyroLife strengthened European innovation capacity by bringing new teams together and laying foundations for collaborations connecting science and practice across Europe, also beyond the countries usually involved in wildfires. Scientifically, PyroLife considerably strengthened the knowledge base on fire social sciences and economics, as well as on wildfires in temperate Europe, which is essential in supporting adaptation to changing wildfires now and in the future.
PyroLife provided a stellar cohort of early career professionals with an amazing international network across science in practice, that has opened doors to our graduates and that will continue to open doors to our graduates for a long time to come. The project also had a significant impact on the staff involved, and their organizations. Collaborations in this training network have resulted in new teams being developed that for instance collaborate on new research papers and projects, such as the EU-funded projects FIRE-RES, SEMEDFIRE, FirePlay and Firelogue. As such, PyroLife strengthened European innovation capacity by bringing new teams together and laying foundations for collaborations connecting science and practice across Europe, also beyond the countries usually involved in wildfires. Scientifically, PyroLife considerably strengthened the knowledge base on fire social sciences and economics, as well as on wildfires in temperate Europe, which is essential in supporting adaptation to changing wildfires now and in the future.