Norwegian Chairship Wildland Fires Initiative

What was the Chairship Wildland Fires Initiative?

The Norwegian Chairship launched the Wildland Fires Initiative (WFI) to proactively draw attention to, and foster better understanding of, the causes and impacts of wildland fires on Arctic ecosystems and communities, while offering a contribution to our climate’s future. It sought to increase circumpolar collaboration, knowledge sharing and partnership on wildland fires to tackle this urgent climate issue. By pooling together the collective expertise, experiences and resources on wildland fires from the Arctic Council, and by partnering with other wildland fire activities and projects led by external partners, the WFI made information on wildland fires in the Arctic more accessible through public panels, outreach campaigns and other communicative efforts that spanned across the Norwegian Chairship term.

The WFI called upon the expertise from Arctic Council Working Group and Expert Group activities and programs, Indigenous Knowledge and Local Knowledge holders, as well as valuable perspectives coming from the Council’s Observer states and international organizations, as well as other relevant partners.

What has the initiative achieved?

This Chairship initiative sought to elevate – not duplicate – the ongoing work in all of the Arctic Council's Working Groups and its Expert Group on Black Carbon and Methane on wildland fires by providing updated information on current work and findings, and future activities or plans, on wildland fires. Aligned with the Arctic Council’s Strategic Plan, the overall objective of the WFI was to raise the urgency of this issue both within the Arctic Council and in broader contexts. Some of its key achievements include:

1. Identifying knowledge gaps and best practices, including issues that require attention of the Arctic Council and potential actions to enhance cross-cutting research and sustain multilateral cooperation;
2. Enhancing knowledge generation and sharing across and beyond the Council; and,
3. Improving overall understanding and awareness of wildland fires from an Arctic and climate change perspective.

Although there has been a rise in discussions on wildland fires at the Arctic Council-level concerning in recent years, Norway saw room to improve the sharing of knowledge about wildland fires both within and beyond the Arctic Council. The WFI therefore played a role in addressing this need by building on previous communicative efforts initiated through the Arctic Wildland Fire Sharing Circle of 2021, but also found inspiration on past Chairmanship initiatives aimed at drawing attention to specific Arctic Council work, e.g., plastics pollution, Covid-19 in the Arctic, and Arctic marine cooperation. The WFI emphasized the ongoing initiatives spearheaded by the Working Groups focusing on wildland fires and enhanced the accessibility of this information. The initiative brought attention to these projects and others as they hold particular significance in the face of the climate crisis and the escalating challenges wildland fires represent – and will continue to represent – in the Arctic region.

Outcomes

The WFI elevated the ongoing work in all Working Groups and the Expert Group on Black Carbon and Methane on wildland fires by providing updated information on current work and findings, and future activities or plans, on wildland fires. Through different processes, the WFI accomplished four outcomes:

1. Discussion series at international conferences and fora: The WFI discussion series showcased Arctic Council work and expert speakers from Arctic States, Permanent Participants, and Observers joined in total ten panel discussions, sharing circles, plenaries and side events on wildland fires at selected international conferences and fora in 2024 and 2025.
2. Communications outreach campaign: The outreach campaign includedongoing efforts, including regular articles, interviews, a podcast episode and stories.
3. Summary Report on WFI for Senior Arctic Officials (SAOs): The Norwegian Chairship prepared a report that consists of a comprehensive summary of all the work and activities undertaken throughout the implementation period of the WFI, reporst on achievements and provides key findings and considerations for the Arctic Council.
4. Arctic Council Compendium on Arctic Wildland Fires: The WFI developed an electronic compendium on Arctic Council wildland fires projects and deliverables, including related communications materials.