Leverhulme Wildfires Summer Conference 2026

Living with Fire: Integrating Research and Action Across Disciplines and Knowledge Systems

The international conference of the Leverhulme Centre for Wildfires, Society and Environment (“Leverhulme Wildfires”)

Imperial College London

Tuesday 21st July and Wednesday 22nd July, 2026

City and Guilds Building, South Kensington

Conference Summary

The Leverhulme Wildfires Summer Conference 2026 brings together researchers, policymakers, practitioners and other experts from diverse disciplines to share our understanding of landscape fires, their drivers and impacts – and explore how societies can live with fires in a rapidly changing Earth system.

Through a mix of presentations, panel discussions, workshops and interactive sessions, participants will examine the drivers and impacts of changing fire regimes and explore how scientific insight can better inform action. The programme highlights emerging approaches to proactive preparedness, advances in fire detection and prediction, and the need for inclusive and equitable fire management that integrates scientific, Indigenous and practitioner knowledge. It also considers how adaptive policies, governance arrangements and economic incentives can support more resilient landscapes and communities.

By fostering dialogue across disciplines and knowledge systems, the conference aims to identify practical pathways for integrating research, policy and management in order to navigate the complex ecological and societal challenges posed by fire.

Read below for information on:

📆 Registration [Opening April, deadline 9th July]

🔊 Call For Abstracts (Research and Art) [Call now open, deadline 20th April]

🌿 Conference Themes

🌎 International Travel Bursary [Now open, deadline 20th April]

📸 Wildfires Research Through the Lens II: ECR/PhD Photography Competition [Now open, deadline 1st July]

📜 Draft Programme

✉️ Organising Committee and Contact Information

Registration

Registration will open in April [registration is FREE, except for conference dinner]

Deadline Friday 9th July

Call for Abstracts

We invite abstracts for presentations (oral or poster) from researchers, practitioners and other experts under our six key themes (below). We also invite applications to exhibit artworks at the conference, that address the question: How can art help us perceive, understand, and reimagine fire in a rapidly changing world? 

Abstract Submission (research and art):  Leverhulme Wildfires Summer Conference 2026 – Call for Abstracts

If you are interested in holding a wildfire-related meeting on the post-conference morning, Thurs 23rd July, please also complete the form above.

Deadline: Monday 20th April

Notification of Acceptance: Monday 27th April

Conference Themes

Theme A: What controls landscape burning, and how can we better anticipate and detect these events?

What are the relative roles of climate variability, long-term climate change, vegetation and fuel dynamics, and human activities in shaping fire regimes? This session explores drivers of fire across scales – from laboratory experiments and local landscape processes to global Earth system patterns – and considers how improved observation, detection, and predictive capabilities can support earlier awareness and proactive preparedness.

Theme B: How does fire interact with atmospheric composition, the carbon cycle, and climate?

As fire regimes intensify and shift, how do they alter atmospheric chemistry, air quality, carbon cycling, weather patterns, and long-term climate trajectories?  And how do climate and weather, in turn, impact fire regimes? This session examines both present-day feedbacks and their implications for future Earth system dynamics, including how improved monitoring and modelling of fire–atmosphere interactions can enhance prediction and societal preparedness for emerging risks.

Theme C: How do fires impact biodiversity, ecosystem services, and human health and well-being?

Fires reshape habitats, species interactions, ecosystem services, and the health and livelihoods of communities. This session explores ecological and social consequences of fire, identifying vulnerabilities, thresholds, and opportunities for resilience, with particular attention to how impacts and risks are distributed across societies and landscapes.

Theme D: What consequences and trade-offs arise from fire management and preparedness strategies?

Efforts to suppress or control fire often have unexpected social and ecological knock‑on effects, producing difficult trade‑offs among competing policy objectives and social values. This session seeks to clarify those trade‑offs and evaluate the effectiveness of proactive preparedness and management approaches, and considers their implications for long-term environmental and societal resilience.

Theme E: How can fire policymaking and management be made more integrative, equitable and adaptive?

Fire policymaking must navigate competing goals, interests and knowledge systems in ways that are perceived as fair and that produce effective outcomes. This session explores how policymaking and management can better integrate ecological and social sciences, Indigenous and local knowledge, and practitioner expertise to improve decision‑making, legitimacy and measurable social and ecological outcomes, while also examining the role of adaptive governance and economic instruments, including markets, in shaping fire management strategies.

Theme F: What futures for fire in the Earth system are plausible – and which should we aim for? 

This session examines plausible trajectories of fire–climate–landscape interaction under alternative climate change, economic development and governance scenarios. It considers how advances in prediction, preparedness, and adaptive policy frameworks could shape future fire regimes, and asks what normative visions of a “good” fire future (for safety, biodiversity, carbon and cultural livelihoods) should guide policy and how they might be achieved.

International Travel Bursary for Early Career Researchers and PhD Students

We have made two full bursaries available to Early Career Researchers (ECRs) (up to 8 years post-PhD) and PhD students from least developed, low, and lower middle-income countries, as defined by OECD

Full bursaries include: international travel to London, UK; visa costs; and accommodation and subsistence over the conference period. We may also be able to support a limited number of partial bursaries, depending on overall interest in the award.

Selection decisions will rely chiefly on the Statement of Support and the presentation abstract. Additional preference will be afforded to applicants from least developed countries.

ECR TRAVEL BURSARY APPLICATION

Successful applicants will be required to give an oral or poster presentation at the conference. You will therefore also need to submit an abstract in the Call for Abstracts 

Deadline: 20th April 2026

We will be in touch with all applicants by early May

Wildfires Through the Lens II: ECR/PhD Photography Competition

Leverhulme Wildfires is launching its second competition to showcase photographs and accompanying narratives that best communicate the research of Early Career Researchers (including PhD students) from around the world.

Deadline: 1st July 2026

Draft Programme

Please see here for Draft Programme (March 2026)

Information about confirmed invited speakers will be shared in April.

Conference Organising Committee

For information please contact Adriana Ford at wildfire@imperial.ac.uk