Presenter Information

Tralee, Ireland

The Call for Presentations is now open.

The International Association of Wildland Fire places high importance on integrity, responsibility and reputation and expect members to display high standards of behavior that are conducive to creating and maintaining diverse and inclusive practices. This includes the manner in which we conduct ourselves in normal business practices and at our conferences.

To better assist conference presenters, panel members, and other participants, we have prepared these guidelines to help improve understanding of our changing social environment, the importance of considering audience perception, and how to prepare to ensure that appropriate language and images are used during presentations at conferences and workshops. In this guide we provide some helpful advice on presentation ethics; oral presentation language in terms of implications to sensitivity, respect, and inclusivity; thoughts on developing presentation visual aids; and identified areas of inappropriate behavior.

IAWF expects all presenters to:

Provide opportunities for others to learn and develop in ways that are in keeping with the IAWF commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Refrain from demeaning, discriminatory, or harassing behavior, materials, and speech.
Refrain from harassment of or any form of discrimination against another participant, staff member, volunteer or others.
Always fully disclose and resolve any existing or potential conflicts of interest.
Always keep proprietary information confidential unless the appropriate person authorizes its disclosure.

Call for Presentation Proposals

The 7th Fire Behavior and Fuels Conference is scheduled for April 15-19, 2024 in Tralee, Ireland. The conference will be held simultaneously in Canberra, Australia and Boise, Idaho. Each location will have the opportunity to submit your presentation. We are seeking Oral Presentations, Lightning Talks, and Poster Presentations. All abstracts are required to be submitted via this IAWF Online Submission System.

The conference offers a forum where past Fire Management experience and lessons learned are documented, current work showcased, and emerging research, innovation and techniques on fire management shared, towards developing integrated solutions to these challenges.

This conference on three continents provides an opportunity to showcase how different countries can implement newly developed fire management policies and frameworks at national, regional and local levels to address fire risks and build resilience. The conference will unite policy makers, scientists, fire managers and Indigenous land stewards for a shared purpose and a different future living with fire.

The deadline to submit is October 15, 2023.

We will produce a conference proceedings, all presenters are strongly encouraged to submit an extended abstract, more information will be provided. We are also exploring the possibility of organizing a special issue of IJWF, more information will be provided soon.

For more information on the Canberra conference and details on how to submit a presentation use this link.

For more information on the Boise conference and details on how to submit a presentation use this link.

Questions? Contact Mikel Robinson, IAWF 406-625-7059 or mailto:execdir@iawfonline.org

If your work fits within the Fire Behavior and Fuels category, for example but not limited to the following topic areas, please consider submitting an abstract.

Technologies and Approaches:

Innovative technologies and approaches in Wildland Fire Management
Remotely Sensed technologies and approaches
Remote Sensing (RS): Applied research to operations
Artificial Intelligence (AI), data assimilation, and Machine Learning for Fire Behavior Modelling and Prediction
Robotics and Unmanned Systems for Aerial and Ground-Based Firefighting Operations

Fire Effects:

Impacts of Wildland Fire on Ecosystems, Biodiversity, and Landscape Dynamics
Assessment and Mitigation of Smoke and Air Quality Impacts
Ecological Recovery and Interactions with Other Ecological Disturbances
Smoke Management best practices and lessons learned
Transported smoke impacts to Health and the ecosystem

Weather and Climate:

Influence of Weather and Climate on Wildland Fire Behavior and Spread
Impacts of Climate Change and Variability on Wildland Fires
Weather Forecasting and Prediction for Effective Fire Management
Climate Adaptation Strategies in Changing Fire Regimes
Fire coupled impacts on weather and climate

Fuels and Fire Behavior:

Fuel Characterization and Classification Methodologies
Fire Behavior Experiments, Modelling and Simulation Techniques
Fuel Management Strategies, including Prescribed Burning
Collection and Integration of Fuel Data and Fire Behavior Modelling for Decision-Making
Success stories of fuel treatments and wildfires

Operations and Management:

Firefighting Techniques, Strategies, and Technologies
Planning and Execution of Prescribed Burning
Fuel Management Practices and Operational Challenges
Policy Development, Implementation, and Evaluation in Wildland Fire Management
Risk Management Strategies and Frameworks
Natural vs unnatural ignition techniques to meet management objectives
Historical practices to operations and management that remain relevant.

Cultural Perspectives:

Indigenous perspectives on wildland fire management and land stewardship
Traditional Ecological Knowledge and practices inr fire management
Collaborative approaches and partnerships with Indigenous communities
Preservation of cultural heritage in wildland fire management
How to approach and partner with Indigenous communities

Human Dimensions:

Community trust, confidence, and resilience in in regard to escalating fire behavior and increasing risk
Psychology of risk perception and communication
Importance of community engagement and participatory approaches in fuel treatment planning and implementation.
Community-led programs for wildland fire preparedness, prevention, and recovery
Innovative approaches to community recovery and rebuilding following significant fire events.
Social dimensions of expanding public awareness of causes and effects of increasing fire behavior, changing fuel complexes, and escalating risk.
Emergency public communications and evacuations preparedness in fire prone communities
Shared responsibility, community partnerships and engagement
Climate resilience approaches on a growing fire landscape
Living in the Wildland Urban Fire Interface (WUI)
Compound climate hazards and health risks (Equity and Environmental Justice)

Presentation Types

Oral Presentation – 15-minute presentation (12 minutes with 3 minutes for Q&A and transition.) These presentations will be grouped with presentations of similar topics by the organizers.
Poster Presentation – Will be presented during a designated session, as well as made available throughout the entire conference. In addition, presenters will have an opportunity to do a short verbal (less than 1 minute) introduction to their poster.
Lightning Talk – 5-minute presentation. These presentations will be grouped with presentations of similar topics by the organizers.

Timeline

- Open August 15 – October 15
- Review of proposals – October 15 – November 15
- Authors notified November 15
- Program Schedule Finalized – December 1

Information needed to submit proposals

Presentation Title
Presenter Information (name, title, affiliation, phone, email)
Type of Presentation
- Oral Presentation
- Lightning Talk
- Poster Presentation
Abstract: 400 words or less, please use as much non-technical language as possible, and describe the areas that will be specifically addressed in the presentation
Additional Authors: Name, title, affiliation
Student Presenter: Yes or No
Presenter Bio (100 words or less)
Are you interested in submitting to a special issue or an extended abstract to the proceedings?
Are you interested in leading a special issue as a guest editor?