Anita Varghese, Director Biodiversity
Convened by the Environmental Defense Fund and the FSC Indigenous Foundation, a gathering of indigenous leaders from Latin America, together with representatives from Africa and India, met at Uxmal, Yucatan, Mexico, between August 17-20. The workshop was facilitated by an excellent team of translators, lawyers and activists who helped bridge the gap of language, context and narratives that were similar yet distinct.
Ancient knowledge about the science of fire should be central to community-led fire governance. Such governance can play a major role in preventing large-scale, disaster-linked forest fires. During the ‘Godzilla El Niño’, we cannot overlook the links between wildfires and climate.
A climate-resilience strategy can certainly reduce the risks of wildfires. Indigenous knowledge is not only knowledge to be recognized or practices to be preserved, says Edgar C. Godoy (AVP-Forests-EDF), they hold the potential for a living system of governance for the future of fire management.
Across the globe, including India, Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities play a central role in fire management. They work with forest managers to report, control, and sometimes restore fire-damaged landscapes. Their ancient knowledge helps us understand fire causes and behaviour across different biomes and geopolitical zones. There is a need to deepen this understanding and strengthen the collaboration for better management of wildfires.
I have come away from Uxmal with a clear message from the IPLC that forest fires can be controlled, prevented, and managed through indigenous knowledge. There are site- and context-specific situations that need to be addressed in collaboration with the key stakeholders. There is also a need for greater investment to better equip, train, and protect first responders from communities and forestry departments. They put their lives at risk every time they respond to a wildfire.
Photo credit: Kiara
A declaration from the Uxmal workshop is being crafted for sharing with a wider audience, and we hope it will shape country-level policies on integrating indigenous knowledge on forest fires in larger frameworks of forest fire management.
