UN takes note of global indigenous fire practices to control wildfires

What is the News?

The United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP) has released a report titled “Spreading like wildfire: The rising threat of extraordinary landscape fires”.

The report has taken note of burning practices and techniques of indigenous peoples around the world as a method to control wildfire incidents.

What are the key findings of the report?

Wildfires: Climate change and land-use change are projected to make wildfires more frequent and intense, with a global increase of extreme fires of up to 14% by 2030, 30% by the end of 2050 and 50% by the end of the century.

What are the recommendations given by the report to control Wildfires?

The report calls on governments to adopt a new ‘Fire Ready Formula’, with two-thirds of spending devoted to planning, prevention, preparedness, and recovery, with one third left for a response.

Other suggestions of the report include:

How can indigenous practices be adopted to control wildfires?

Fire has always played a significant role in the lives of many Indigenous peoples around the world. For some peoples, their understanding and use of fire is entrenched in creation stories and practice. 

For example, 

In Australia, the use of fire to create mosaic landscapes for hunting and gathering purposes also broke up the continuity of fuels and so inhibited the extensive spread of wildfires. 

In Canada, there is evidence of Indigenous peoples using fire as a way of managing their territory.

In Brazil, many Indigenous groups (e.g The Xavante) are trained in total fire suppression.

In the United States of America, several key initiatives have developed opportunities to support Indigenous burning activities as a way to engage in wildfire prevention and mitigation at the landscape level.

Source: This post is based on the article “UN takes note of global indigenous fire practices to control wildfires” published in Down To Earth on 1st April 2022.