A pilot program in Brazil and traditional communities shows that it is possible to reduce the areas burned by wildfires with prevention activities, highlights a video.
September has arrived, and with it, the critical period for wildfires in Brazil. These fires spread easily at the height of the dry season, threatening sensitive native vegetation, wildlife, and the safety of the population exposed to uncontrolled fires and high concentrations of air pollutants. According to the National Institute for Space Research, (INPE), the occurrence of wildfires in Brazil follows the climatic calendar, peaking in the driest months of the year, from July to October, and peaking in September. This situation can be prevented through the use of Integrated Fire Management (IFM) techniques.
To reduce the area burned by fires, the MIF involves a series of actions, such as awareness-raising, community engagement, restoration of degraded areas, prescribed burning in biomes naturally adapted to fire, and other prevention and control activities. The strategy values traditional communities, which for generations have used fire in a controlled manner and promoted the monitoring of natural areas, created firebreaks, and organized themselves collaboratively for surveillance and first fire response. To explain and illustrate how this strategy works, the Institute of Society, Population and Nature (ISPN) and the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM) have released an informative video (watch below). The film aims to raise awareness among environmentally concerned audiences about the diverse actions encompassed by the MIF, highlighting its benefits.
Research proves the benefits of MIF
The MIF pilot program in Brazil, implemented in Chapada das Mesas National Park, Jalapão State Park, and the Serra Geral do Tocantins Ecological Station in 2014, managed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fires in the region by 39%, in addition to reducing the area burned by up to 57% in three years. Emissions resulting from MIF's controlled and prescribed burns, which take place during the transition between the rainy and dry seasons, are much lower than those emitted by large fires that occur at the height of the dry season, which have increasingly contributed to climate change. Constant monitoring and evaluation, participatory processes, and adaptive management are key to its success.
Lívia Carvalho Moura, a technical advisor at ISPN who has been conducting research on MIF in the Cerrado biome for over twelve years, confirms that traditional communities and family farmers are the ones most knowledgeable about fire behavior and know how to both prevent and combat fires. However, technical training is needed to ensure the safety of community firefighters.
"Traditional communities have a lot to teach science about environmental conservation. One of the biggest lessons is that it's possible to reduce the areas burned by wildfires in Brazil with planning, training, and involvement of rural communities," she says. The researcher emphasizes that the application of IFM can reduce the area burned by wildfires by half. However, there are differences between biomes that must be considered.
The prescribed burning practiced in some areas of the Cerrado does not apply to humid forests, for example. In the recently released video, Ane Alencar, Director of Science at IPAM, discusses the peculiarities of forest biomes, where fire is undesirable. "In the Amazon, the MIF focuses on the regular creation of firebreaks in at-risk areas, the formation of local fire brigades, and the mapping of vegetation, vulnerable areas, and barriers to fire," she explains.
Why prevent?
Wildfires increase air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in Brazil and around the world, exacerbating climate change, altering the rainfall cycle, and increasing temperature differences. Their impacts also include the death of wild animals, ecosystem degradation, increased respiratory diseases, and economic losses for society as a whole. According to Moura, prevention is an urgent and seldom-discussed issue. "The MIF needs to be included on the public policy agenda. Instead of urgent, exhaustive, tragic, and extremely expensive firefighting, preventative planning is needed," he states.
Data from MapBiomas Brasil show that the net loss of native vegetation in the country was equivalent to an area 5,7 times the size of the state of Ceará, totaling 84,7 million hectares, between 1985 and 2021. The net loss of native vegetation indicates the balance between deforestation and regeneration during the period. Speaking of fire, 20% of the entire national territory (167,3 million hectares) has burned at least once between 1985 and 2020 – the most recent figures from MapBiomas Fogo. The Cerrado and Amazon regions represent 85% of the burned area over the last 36 years. In the Cerrado alone, 36% of the area has already been burned. The state of Mato Grosso suffered the most from the fires, followed by Pará and Tocantins. Maranhão, Piauí, and Bahia also top the list of the most impacted states.
Need for public policy
In addition to mitigating climate change, the MIF saves public money, considering that firefighting costs involve increased costs for aircraft, helicopters, fuel, equipment, and labor hours, as well as increased fatigue for the teams involved. All of MIF's prevention and planning efforts ensure a better cost-benefit ratio.
Several countries that use MIF have achieved positive results, such as Australia. "With the successful results, the approach has been implemented by several countries in Africa and has proven increasingly effective in reducing environmental and economic losses," comments Lívia. In Brazil, the Bill (PL 11276/2018), unanimously approved in 2021 by the Chamber of Deputies, is awaiting approval in the Federal Senate. The bill establishes the National Integrated Fire Management Policy, regulating the strategy and allowing the expansion of the Integrated Fire Management Policy throughout Brazil.
About ISPN
ISPN is a Brazilian non-profit non-governmental organization founded in April 1990 and headquartered in Brasília. With 32 years of experience, it is recognized for its expertise in biodiversity conservation and sustainable use, supporting indigenous peoples, traditional communities, and family farmers in the Cerrado, Amazon, and Caatinga biomes. Its mission is to contribute to social equity and environmental balance by strengthening sustainable livelihoods and climate change adaptation strategies.
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About IPAM
The Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM) is a scientific, non-governmental, non-partisan, and nonprofit organization that has been working for the sustainable development of the Amazon since 1995. Our purpose is to consolidate the Amazon's tropical development model by 2035 through the production of knowledge, implementation of local initiatives, and influence on public policies, in order to impact economic development, social equality, and environmental preservation.
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