POLIS Offers Solutions to the National Wildfire Priority

In a recent article in the Vancouver Sun, the POLIS Wildfire Resilience Project team noted that, even though it is winter, wildfires are still on the minds of many wildfire managers and community members across B.C. and Canada.

In early December, Forests Minister Ravi Parmer hosted the high-profile first National Wildfire Symposium in Vancouver and, in late January, wildfire risk featured prominently at the 23rd B.C. Natural Resources Forum in Prince George.

POLIS’ Doug Donaldson (Senior Wildfire Policy Analyst) participated at both these events, sharing recent and forthcoming research from the POLIS Wildfire Resilience Project on challenges and opportunities for achieving wildfire resilience in B.C.

The National Wildfire Symposium brought together national and international experts, provincial and territorial governments, and key industry and Indigenous partners to foster reflection, collaboration, and innovation on the challenges and opportunities ahead. One intended outcome of the event was to enhance a national framework for wildfire resilience, including the challenges and opportunities people and communities are facing. The B.C. provincial government continues its ongoing work in this area, and we expect this to be a continuing topic of discussion at the annual meeting of the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers, which will be hosted by B.C. this summer.

Doug Donaldson was also one of nearly 2000 participants at the B.C. Natural Resources Forum — alongside the B.C. Premier and cabinet ministers, provincial government senior managers, local government officials, First Nations leaders, industry executives, and NGOs. This year’s agenda included panel presentations on forestry and on risk to infrastructure from natural hazards.

Each of these events highlighted the growing priority of wildfire at both provincial and national scales. Drawing on POLIS research, Doug Donaldson added to the dialogue. He discussed beneficial fire as a strategy to reduce risk from wildfire, the need to shift towards strategically focused cross-government integration for better provincial collaboration on issues connected to wildfire, and the urgency of also advancing a whole-of-society approach that integrates and coordinates efforts within and beyond the provincial government.

The shift towards better cross-government integration and coordination on wildfire resilience is the focus of a forthcoming report from the POLIS Wildfire Resilience Project. Key messages from this work were described in the recent Vancouver Sun op-ed.