The fire situation is moving from crisis to crisis, from disaster to disaster, and from one unprecedented fire to the next. Yet the toolbox for fire risk mitigation is already full. For decades, fire research has identified the same measures and activities and called for the same roadmaps. Drawing on some 25 years of Alexander Held’s experience with fire across the globe, this presentation will examine rapidly developing innovations and assess them against policy and scientific recommendations. It will also explore untapped areas for innovation and consider potential action items for students and developers.

Speaker Biography

Alexander Held – Senior Expert in Fire, Silviculture, and Wildlife, European Forest Institute

Alexander Held is a Senior Expert in Fire, Silviculture, and Wildlife at the European Forest Institute (EFI), where he works on the European Forest Risk Facility to strengthen landscape resilience through knowledge exchange, cooperation and mutual assistance across Europe. He also contributed to EFI's Integrate projects on disturbance and biodiversity in managed forests. Held earned a Master of Science in Forest Science from the University of Freiburg in Germany. He began his career in fire ecology with the Max Planck Society and the Global Fire Monitoring Center (GFMC), working in Europe and southern Africa before joining EFI in 2012. His expertise includes forest risk management, vegetation fire, silviculture and deer management. He also serves on the Hunting Advisory Board for the Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district and coordinates hunting education for the Freiburg Hunting Association.