On Tuesday, 21 October, and Wednesday, 22 October 2025, a seminar and a cross-border workshop were held at the headquarters of the Civil Protection Service in Monfalcone, organized within the framework of the KARST ADAPT project.
Both events were attended by representatives of the Civil Protection Service, the Fire Brigade, the Forestry Service and local municipalities, including delegates from Slovenia.
The seminar on 21 October focused on a technical and operational exchange regarding emergency management, aimed in particular at operators directly involved in interventions. The goal was to provide an overview of the experiences gained in managing civil protection events.
The cross-border workshop on 22 October aimed to identify the key elements needed to define a joint memorandum of understanding for managing emergencies in the cross-border area.
Discussions held during both events highlighted that protection from environmental risks—especially fires in the Karst region—requires coordinated action among neighbouring territories and their respective prevention services. For this reason, the cross-border Karst Adapt project plays an important role, as it seeks to lay the foundations for cooperation among bordering territories. Since fires do not recognize borders, coordinated responses to natural disasters and improved mutual organization of services are essential.
Experts emphasized that the vulnerability of the Karst area included in the project, and the resulting need to enhance cross-border cooperation, equipment and preventive measures, were clearly demonstrated by the negative experience of 2022, when the area was struck by a large-scale forest fire that caused extensive damage and threatened both settlements and residents.
Both events represented an important opportunity for collaboration and the exchange of good practices among those most involved in responding to extraordinary events such as floods, wildfires and hailstorms. The activities carried out contributed significantly to developing the elements required for drafting the future cross-border memorandum of understanding.
