About the Centre for Wildfire Coexistence

Coexisting with wildfire represents a transformational shift in understanding of the ecological, cultural, and social benefits, in addition to costs, of fire. It encompasses a paradigm shift toward restoration of fire as a vital ecosystem process and Indigenous cultural practice, as well as proactive management to decrease risk and increase community resilience across diverse ecosystems.

Vision

To enable society to coexist with wildfire.

Mission

To take a holistic view of wildfires and catalyze transformative changes to fire and forest management that are urgently needed to address social-ecological impacts of contemporary wildfires and to coexist with future wildfires.

Rationale

Wildfire is an essential social-ecological process across diverse ecosystems of British Columbia and Canada; however, contemporary wildfires are the culmination of a century of altered human-forest-wildfire relationships, exacerbated by anthropogenic climate change. The number and frequency of extreme wildfire events and fire seasons are increasing, with unprecedented ecological, social, and economic impacts that have repeatedly demonstrated that the ecosystems, infrastructure, and communities in British Columbia are not resilient. These threats require a novel approach for society to adapt and coexist with wildfire.

Mandate

Coexisting with wildfire requires recognizing and strengthening diverse knowledges, supporting social relationships that enable shared decision-making, and building capacities that contribute to community and ecosystem resilience, while proactively managing wildfire risk using new, innovative technologies.

The Centre for Wildfire Coexistence aims to achieve this mandate by integrating four key elements, aligned with UBC’s Strategic Directions 2025-2030

Research Excellence

Our interdisciplinary research provides the holistic understanding of wildfires needed to catalyze urgently needed changes to fire and forest management.

  • Contribute to ecosystem and community resilience through research on biophysical and social-political drivers of wildfires that supports local-to-landscape strategies to adapt forests and communities to changing climate and fire regimes.
  • Advance research co-developed with Indigenous peoples and Nations that responds to Indigenous priorities relating to fire stewardship, governance and risk mitigation, in alignment with UBC’s Indigenous Strategic Plan and its commitments to truth and reconciliation.
  • Promote evidence-based proactive management and ecocultural restoration, including innovative pyrosilviculture, prescribed fire, Indigenous cultural burning, and managed wildfire to increase forest and community resilience to wildfires.
  • Activate new technologies to assess real-time wildfire risk, detect wildfire ignitions in fire-prone high-consequence environments, and elicit timely emergency response.

Local and Global Engagement

Solutions to the wildfire crisis require an all-of-society approach, with novel and innovative knowledge extension achieved by dedicated specialists who engage collaborators at local-to-global scales.

  • Wildfire knowledge extension specialists serve as boundary spanners, supporting collaboration and knowledge co-production across disciplines and organizations to ensure research is translated to proactive management and reflected in policy and best-practices.
  • Knowledge translation will include workshops, conferences, and multi-media engagement, with the support of a communication and engagement plan.
  • Community engagement through relationship-building, creative public outreach, education and knowledge exchange, with a focus on rural and remote communities in fire-affected and fire-prone environments.
  • Collaborative networks include wildfire researchers, First Nations and Indigenous organizations, government agencies, industry partners, private landowners and forest, fire, and land management professionals.

Transformative Learning

New programs address a critical gap in professional training and capacity in wildfire science and management at the provincial and national levels.

  • Fundamentals of Wildland Fire Ecology and Management is a unique continuing education certificate program that combines western fire science and Indigenous ways of knowing with landscape and fire ecology and social sciences to address a vital need for professional training in the complex area of wildfire management.
  • National Prescribed Fire Training Program will be a first-of-its kind training program in Canada. Working with partners and stakeholders across the country, the National Prescribed Fire Training Program will lead the development of qualification standards and delivery of training for various roles in prescribed fire, and will support the revitalization of Indigenous cultural fire and proactive fire management by reducing barriers and increasing access to applied training across Canada. 
  • Connected cohorts of graduate students at both campuses will have unique opportunities to receive interdisciplinary training, address timely research questions, develop community and professional connections to enhance employability, and contribute to research excellence at UBC.

Innovative Technology and Infrastructure

Innovation and collaborative research aims to inform and support wildfire management and help ensure landscapes and communities are more resilient to wildfire.

  • Sensors, Camera Network and Models are being developed which will help monitor and predict fire risk, potential fire behaviour, and detect wildfires to support emergency response and public safety. Innovation and development of applied tools for wildfire management will help ensure landscapes and communities are more resilient to wildfire. 
  • The Okanagan Wildfire Science Lab will be a first-of-its kind in Canada. The lab will enable research that enhances our understanding of how fuels burn under realistic conditions and how to increase the resilience of communities and infrastructure to wildfire. This facility will enable collaborations with industry partners to simulate burns under a variety of controlled conditions, with potential translations to forest and land management and urban development.