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Description:

Firelab is a web-application that produces detailed wildfire reports at both the country and village levels .Lebanon’s forests are increasingly exposed to a suite of stresses linked to urbanization, wildfire, climate warming, and misguided management. During the last decades, changes in traditional land-use and lifestyles have resulted in an increase in fuel accumulation in many of Lebanon’s forests. At the same time, population densities are increasing in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) where fuel accumulations are greatest. Increasing fuel accumulation, growing settlement in the WUI and climate warming all contribute to increased wildfire risk, posing significant challenges to municipalities and land managers tasked with protecting populations and forests from severe wildfires. The Goal of the project is to develop the capacity of stakeholders in Lebanon to assess and manage wildfire risk in Lebanon’s WUI in light of future climate change and human development in wildland areas. A primary goal of our research is to improve knowledge and understanding among land managers, university students, local community groups, and municipalities about the nature and risks of wildfire in Lebanon’s WUI. Results from our research will provide critical information for land managers and municipalities tasked with mitigating increased risk of wildland fires. Research objectives: (1) investigate the feasibility of developing a wildfire-climate model for Lebanon that simulates the interactions among climate change, expansion of human development into wildland areas, and wildfire risk in the WUI; (2) identify data needs and partnerships necessary for future development of a wildfire-climate model for Lebanon; and (3) develop materials that would demonstrate how such a model can be used by Lebanese stakeholders to adaptively manage wildfire risk in the WUI for future climate and land use changes. Educational objectives: (4) develop the capacity of the community of interest (i.e., land and wildland fire management agencies, homeowners, and community/regional planners) to assess and manage wildfire risk in the WUI under alternative climate change and residential development futures; and (5) incorporate the research results into educational products that increase understanding and knowledge of wildfire risk to the broader community (i.e., students, members of the public who do not actively make decisions that influence wildfires and wildfire risk, and management personnel for public forests and nature reserves). 

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