This 61st edition of Tropical Forest Issues (formerly ETFRN News) includes a collation of 25 articles from more than 100 contributors. There are more than 20 case studies from across tropical America, Asia, and Africa, with others that explain the importance of ecology, management, and concepts related to fire management.
A paradigm shift is urgently required, towards a focus on locally-led, integrated visions of fire management that includes risk mitigation, fire prevention, and post-fire recovery, and not just fire suppression. The negative impacts of ‘no fire’ policies are highlighted in several articles, and that has led to more intense wildfires.
Many studies emphasize the importance of indigenous and traditional knowledge related to fire management, especially from Latin America. Across the globe, community participation is crucial in designing and implementing fire management policies. Innovative cases and practices are presented, with the potential for scaling.
Also stressed, was that capacity development is needed at all levels, from national and sub-national coordination, to community volunteers – and not just for dedicated fire brigades. And where lacking, national integrated fire management strategies and action plans must be developed, with cross-sectoral collaboration, clear roles and responsibilities, and adequate human and technical resources as a basis for concerted and effective fire prevention and suppression.
Finally, more is needed to expand international efforts, that build on well-established organizations and networks for improving the generation, collation, and sharing of experiences.
