Fraunhofer Institute for Transportation and Infrastructure Systems IVI
Climate change is causing increasingly complex chain reactions—with consequences that create great challenges for humans, animals and entire landscapes. Over the past years, German and Polish partner regions along the Neisse river have been faced with a number of flood and forest fire scenarios in which the population lost there livelihoods. A particularly critical fact: A suitable communication medium for quickliy and reliably exchanging decision-relevant information on the current situation and robust prognoses had been lacking until recently.
Shared situation reports and better communikation
In view of these facts, CIFAD-III unites the District of Görlitz District and the Polish Powiat Żarski to achieve a significant improvement of cross-border communication. The aim is to close gaps, especially in the exchange of alarm and situation and the mutual request for emergency resources.
CIFAD-III addresses disaster management authorities, fire departments, and emergency services. Through systematic knowledge transfer, new data sources and optimized processes, the project strengthens crisis prevention and management, resulting in better security for the entire German-Polish border region.
Current project status presented
On November 15, 2025, around 50 representatives of German and Polish disaster management authorities met at the CIFAD-III status event in Weisswasser, Saxony. Together, they were informed about the project's progress in the area of transnational operations and resource management.
On behalf of the project, Fraunhofer IVI is developing a camera platform for rapid situation assessment and a solution for exchanging alarm messages between Germany and Poland that can be integrated into the MobiKat® operational command system. In cooperation wit the Polish partners, an interface is created that will allow reliable information exchange and smooth alarm notification across borders. To achieve this, system testing and trainings for practical application are planned in addition to expert meetings.
The project's main target group is employees of disaster management authorities in the Görlitz and Żary districts, as well as the operational staff of fire departments and emergency service. They used the event as an opportunity to present their equipment and exchange experiences.