Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University has been awarded support under the FUTURAL project call of the Horizon Europe program, funded by the European Union. The project, titled "KEEP-GREEN," aims to provide scientific analyses and methods for developing preventive measures in natural areas with high fire risk.
Scientifically-based early warning methods will be developed.
The project, whose full title is "Weighting and Ranking the Forestry Places According to the Wildfire Occurrence Potential," aims to scientifically assess the risk in areas prone to wildfire and, accordingly, provide decision-makers with effective prevention strategies.
The study will be conducted in three phases.
The project, which began on June 1, 2025, will run for 12 months and consists of three main stages:
• In the first phase, data will be collected using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to identify fire-risk areas.
• In the second phase, these areas will be classified according to their fire potential using Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods. In the third and final phase, the developed methods will be tested in pilot regions to assess their applicability.
The pilot will be conducted in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Čapljina Municipality and Hutovo Blato Nature Park, located within the borders of Bosnia and Herzegovina, were selected as pilot areas for the KEEP-GREEN project. The study, which will be conducted in these regions, which are at high risk of fire due to rising temperatures, drought, and human impacts, aims to provide concrete recommendations to decision-makers based on the findings.
An interdisciplinary team is working under the leadership of AYBU.
The academic coordinators of the project are Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gerçek Budak, a faculty member in the Department of Industrial Engineering at Yıldırım Beyazıt University in Ankara, and researcher Vildan Tezcan. The project is being implemented with the contribution of expert academics from various disciplines, including engineering, environmental sciences, and disaster management.
In addition to AYBU, the CIRP - Center for Investments and Entrepreneurship Development is also a stakeholder in the project. At the local level, the Čapljina Municipality and Hutovo Blato Park Directorate from Bosnia and Herzegovina aim to collaborate on the project with support. The project partners will collaborate on issues such as data sharing, field analyses, and the development of decision support systems.
A preventative approach is paramount in firefighting
The KEEP-GREEN project focuses not only on intervention methods but also on early detection of fires, protecting ecosystems, increasing life and property safety, and reducing response costs. Furthermore, the project's outcomes are expected to serve as an example not only for Bosnia and Herzegovina but also for all forested regions at risk of fire due to climate change.
