A Web Based Geospatial Framework for Forest Fire Information and Climate Change Adaptation

Climate change is significantly altering forest fire regimes through rising temperatures, prolonged drought periods, and changes in vegetation dynamics, leading to increased fire frequency, intensity, and spatial extent. These developments pose serious challenges for forest management, ecosystem protection, and human safety, particularly in small and developing countries with limited institutional and technical capacity. In this context, forest fire information systems play a central role in climate change adaptation by supporting systematic data collection, spatial analysis, and evidence-based decision making. This paper examines the National Forest Fire Information System as Kosovo’s national Web based geospatial platform for forest fire information management and evaluates its contribution to climate change adaptation. The study adopts a system oriented and literature grounded approach, combining analysis of system architecture, data management, and visualization capabilities with insights from international research on geospatial information systems, forest fire management, and early warning frameworks. The analysis focuses on how centralized Web based geospatial platforms can support long term monitoring of fire patterns, enhance situational awareness, and provide a foundation for adaptive risk management under changing climatic conditions. The results show that the National Forest Fire Information System provides essential functionality for centralized storage of forest fire records, interactive spatial visualization, and historical analysis of fire events. At the same time, the study identifies opportunities to strengthen its role in climate adaptation through improved analytical integration, interoperability with environmental data sources, and enhanced support for strategic planning. The paper demonstrates that national Web based geospatial platforms can function as critical components of climate adaptation strategies by transforming operational fire information into long term knowledge for adaptive forest fire risk management.