Spain and Portugal face a pressing common concern: the increasing risk of forest fires. Over the past three decades, both nations have witnessed a disturbing surge in the frequency and intensity of wildfires. The JRC Advance Report on Forest Fires in Europe, Middle East and North Africa 2022 revealed that 2022 was the second-worst wildfire season in the European Union since 2000.

In 2022, Spain's 315,705 hectares and Portugal's 112,063 hectares, a quarter of Europe's total, were ravaged by wildfires.

In the context of cross-border collaboration to fight wildfires, the two countries have established legal frameworks, procedural protocols, and practical tools. These tools range from satellite technologies and fire lookout towers to innovative patents, bolstering early warning systems and data sharing. Comprehensive collaboration also evolves around the work of competent entities in both countries, the roles of regional authorities in Spain and Municipalities in Portugal as well as protocols facilitating such collaboration (e.g.,  Protocol of Évora, enabling both countries to intervene in each other's territories in case of emergencies) and the Joint Cross-border Development Strategy developed in 2020 which further solidifies cross-border cooperation commitment between two countries. Moreover, a significant share of regional cooperation stems from the INTERREG VA Spain-Portugal Programme (POCTEP) as well as  INTERREG Sudoe Programme funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Among the examples of this collaboration in working on the cross-border issue of wildfires within POCTEP 2014 - 2020 are ARIEM+ , Biofrontera l and ll BIN-SAL, GEFRECON, CILIFO, FIREPOCTEP as well as an INTERREG Sudoe programme’s projects such as ForManRisk, FireRS, providing a clear and promising framework for continued success operationalising such collaboration in the future.

Despite exemplary case of cross-border collaboration in managing wildfire risk, several challenges persist, including the need for improved forest management practices, bridging governance strategy and legal gaps, diversifying funding sources, keeping cross-border agreements updated, as well as raising awareness among society, politicians, and stakeholders, overall Spain and Portugal's collaborative efforts against wildfires stand as a testament to shared resilience, innovation, and adaptability.