Management ofWildfire Risk TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 09INTRODUCTION17WILDFIRE RISK PROFILE AND RISK TRENDS19WILDFIRE RISK MANAGEMENT AND INVESTMENT CAPACITIES28WILDFIRE GOVERNANCE29UNDERSTANDING WILDFIRE RISK AND USE OF RISK DATA38WILDFIRE RISK PREVENTION, REDUCTION, AND MITIGATION46WILDFIRE EARLY WARNING AND PUBLIC AWARENESS56WILDFIRE RISK PREPAREDNESS AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE62WILDFIRE RECOVERY, RECONSTRUCTION, AND POST-DISASTER FINANCING73CROSS-CUTTING TOPICS: SOCIAL RESILIENCE AND PRIVATE SECTOR82INVESTMENT NEEDS AND RECOMMENDATIONS86ANNEX 1. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION91ANNEX 2. REFERENCES99 LIST OF TABLES TABLE 1.CAUSES OF FIRES IN ROMANIAN FORESTS IN 202325TABLE 2.KEY WILDFIRES RISK MANAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR ROMANIA ACROSS SECTORS87TABLE 3.KEY NATIONAL LEGISLATION ON WILDFIRE MANAGEMENT91TABLE 4.ADDITIONAL KEY LEGISLATION ON THE FOREST SECTOR92TABLE 5.ADDITIONAL KEY LEGISLATION RELEVANT TO WILDFIRE MANAGEMENT93TABLE 6.KEY REFERENCE INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS FOR FORESTRY AND WILDFIRE MANAGEMENT94TABLE 7.KEY MEASURES AND PROGRAMS/PLANS FOR WILDFIRE RISK MANAGEMENT IN ROMANIA95 LIST OF BOXES BOX 1.FORESTRY SECTOR GOVERNANCE IN ROMANIA32BOX 2.WILDFIRE HAZARD ZONATION METHODS IN ROMANIA40BOX 3.EXAMPLE OF EFFORTS TO IMPROVE UNDERSTANDING OF WILDFIRE RISK - ROMANIA43BOX 4.EXAMPLE OF INTEGRATED FOREST FIRE RISK REDUCTION VIA VIDEO SURVEILLANCE50BOX 5.WILDFIRE RISK REDUCTION AND PREVENTION MEASURES FOR 2023 BY ROMSILVA IN ROMANIAN FORESTS50BOX 6.CROATIAN IFORESTFIRE WILDFIRE MONITORING AND SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM59BOX 7.ROMANIA'S INTERNATIONAL FIREFIGHTING SUPPORT (2022–2024)67BOX 8.KEY OPERATIONAL PRIORITIES DURING THE EXTINCTION/RECOVERY STAGE OF FIRES IN ROMANIA75BOX 9.ROMSILVA’S REFORESTATION OF ROMANIAN FORESTS75 LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1.AVERAGE BURNED AREA (HA) AND AVERAGE NUMBER OF FIRES INCLUDING LAND COVER OVERVIEW(2002–2023)22FIGURE 2.YEARLY EMISSIONS AND BURNED AREA, INCLUDING LAND COVER (FAOSTAT) – (2002–2023)22FIGURE 3.FOREST FIRE LIKELIHOOD25FIGURE 4.THE VEGETATED METROPOLITAN AREA OF ILFOV AND BUCHAREST (A) INCLUDING THE WILDFIRE EXPOSUREMAP OF EXISTING URBAN FABRIC (B) AND THE BOX PLOT OF WILDFIRE SPREADING CAPACITY INDEX DISTRIBUTION PERBUILDING TYPE (C)27FIGURE 5.PROPORTION OF FIRE STATIONS EXPOSED TO HIGH LEVELS OF EACH ASSESSED HAZARD27FIGURE 6.A RISK FINANCING STRATEGY MIX INVOLVING PUBLIC AND PRIVATE FUNDING AND INTERNATIONAL COLLAB-ORATION80 AcknowledgementThis report forms part of technical assistance under the Technical Assistance Financing Facility (TAFF), financed by the European Commission— Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitar-ian Aid Operations (DG ECHO)—and implemented by the World Bank and the Global Facility for DisasterReduction and Recovery (GFDRR). Part of a set, this report is being delivered as part of Component 2(cross-cutting/multi-country) activities funded by the TAFF budget allocated in 2024. This report was prepared by a group of World Bank staff and experts, consolidated by Delia Moleș (DisasterRisk Management Expert), under supervision of Zuzana Stanton-Geddes (Sr. Disaster Risk ManagementSpecialist). Inputs were provided by Horațiu Ioan Ștefănie (Sr. Wildfire Risk Management Expert), DominaDelac (Sr. Wildfire Expert), Tara Juarros Lukic (Disaster Risk Management Consultant), and peer reviewedby Alexandru Cosmin Buteică (Sr. Environmental Specialist). The report was designed by Tamás István Török.The cover photo imagery was provided by © The European Commission. The team is grateful for guidance and comments received from the DG ECHO B3 unit and other units of theEuropean Commission. Disclaimer 2025 May© International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433Telephone: +1-202-473-1000; Internet:www.worldbank.org Some rights reserved.The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, or the governments they represent, or those of theEuropean Union (EU). The World Bank and EU do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or currency ofthe data included in this work and do not assume responsibility for any errors, omissions, or discrepanciesin the information, or liability with respect to the use of or failure to use the information, methods, pro-cesses, or conclusions set forth. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown onany map in this work do not imply any judgement on the part of the World Bank and EU concerning the legalstatus of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. Nothing herein shall constitute or be construed or considered a limitation on or waiver of the privileges andimmunities of the World Bank, or the European Union for which privileges and immunities are specificallyreserved. Rights and Permissions:The material in this work is subject to copyright. Because the World Bank and theEuropean Union enc