Nature-Based Solutions Framework for Wildfire Risk Reduction: Evaluating Governance Recommendations in Girona Province, Spain

Nature-based solutions (NBS) can have a significant role in wildfire management, since NBS effectively address key climate impacts and simultaneously provide social benefits improving sustainable land management. However, the NBS framework has so far been underused in wildfire management, for different reasons such as more focus on fire suppression rather than prevention, and insufficient built-up of policy synergies among fire-related sectors. This research aims to contribute to the theme of NBS implementation in wildfire management, by drawing upon a case-study in the Province of Girona, on the use of prescribed/targeted grazing practice as wildfire prevention tool. This case-study takes local wildfire governance forward, showing positive spillovers for the future empowering role of stakeholders affected by wildfires in the decision-making process. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with local stakeholders, structuring these questionnaires according to the phases of the decision-making framework of NBS. Interview data were analysed through NBS phases to provide evidence of (i) the contribution to the local governance of a prescribed grazing project; (ii) aspects that can improve the effectiveness of such a project over time for wildfire governance implementation. The results from this study highlight significant supported governance aspects: shaping of polycentric governance from forestry to peri-urban scale; engaging stakeholders on shared values to be protected; integrating resources and local knowledge in wildfire management; establishing formal and informal agreements to reduce landscape vulnerability; disseminating information on financial resources to employ preventive measures. Such aspects have serious implications for risk prevention and sustainable planning to preserve natural resources.