From Wildfire Risk to Resilience The Investment Case for Action 2026

Key takeaways –Interoperability prevents tech data from remaining isolated, allowing it to inform risk models. Assurance (verification) makes those signals trusted enough to price risk and unlock premium credits and resilience finance. –Open data or data commons bridge the last mile between field work and underwriting. –Policy and privacy frameworks are vital for using new technology safely and at scale. Community-driven action and partnership are core to wildfire resilience. Local governments, civil society groups and Indigenous and rural communities are on the frontlines of wildfire and serve as first responders and stewards of risk reduction. Inclusive, multistakeholder partnerships make mitigation continuous, broadly adopted and grounded in community priorities.4.4 Community and multistakeholder coordination: building local capacity and shared governance Regional Community Forestry Training Center for Asia and the Pacific’s (RECOFTC) Community-based Fire Management programme in Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve builds local capacity for fire prevention and firefighting. The programme also supports coordination with local authorities and relevant agencies, including the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Fisheries Administration.88 In partnership with GIZ, the Lower Tapajós Brigade Network unites volunteer, Indigenous and government brigades to manage wildfires across over 1 million hectares in Pará, addressing the region’s remote terrain and climate-driven fire risks. Through satellite monitoring, controlled burns, climate education and an emergency response fund, the network cut wildfire response times to below 12 hours. With a $400 million International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)–World Bank loan, Türkiye’s Directorate General of Forestry aims to enhance wildfire resilience across 14 high-risk provinces, protecting 6.8 million hectares of forest and 6 million people, including 21,000 vulnerable households and 2,000 women-led enterprises. Tahoe Fund’s Nevada pilot brings together wildfire partners to reduce risk in a high-hazard landscape. Using advanced modelling and remote vegetation treatments, the project identifies and prioritizes prevention measures such as home hardening and forest thinning. Its goal is to create a replicable model for community-scale wildfire resilience that links proactive action to measurable risk reduction. Habitat for Humanity’s Building Forward initiative advances equitable resilience by supporting communities through preparedness, mitigation and long-term recovery. Centered on community-driven solutions, it helps vulnerable households access wildfire-resilient homes and safe, affordable rebuilding.89 CASE STUDY 4 Community action for wildfire resilience Design principles for scalable community-led coordination and shared governance These principles describe what empirical evidence suggests is likely needed to build locally owned capacity and governance that sustains prevention and enables replication across communities. Not every principle applies to every case. –Decentralized governance: Empower municipalities and communities to co-design local action plans within national frameworks. –Workforce and skills: Sustained funding for local crews builds year-round capacity and stable employment. –Access and reach: Programmes should be designed to reach people and small businesses in the highest-risk areas, including those with limited resources to invest upfront, aligning risk reduction with wider community outcomes. –Knowledge exchange: Peer-to-peer learning between regions and integration of traditional or Indigenous knowledge enhances local ownership. From Wildfire Risk to Resilience: The Investment Case for Action 23