Indigenous fire management: a conceptual model from literature

Nikolakis, William; Roberts, Emma

doi:10.5751/es-11945-250411

Cited by 38 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 43 publications

(70 reference statements)

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“…Following colonisation, fire management was dominated by Western approaches of fire suppression and exclusion (Eriksen & Hankins 2014). However, recently political and academic attention has focussed on the use of Indigenous fire management as an alternative (Robinson et al 2016;Maclean et al 2018;Eloy et al 2019;Nikolakis & Roberts 2020). Many Indigenous communities, particularly in southeast Australia, are in the process of reinvigorating cultural fire management (Maclean et al 2018;Smith et al 2018;Ngurra et al 2019;Neale et al 2019;Weir & Freeman 2019;Firesticks Alliance Indigenous Corporation 2020;McKemey et al 2020b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies have sought knowledge of traditional Indigenous practices to inform contemporary bushfire and ecosystem management (Raymond et al 2010;Ray et al 2012;Bardsley et al 2019;Thomassin et al 2019;Nikolakis & Roberts 2020). This paper aims to further this literature by asking the question: Can the co-production of a fire and seasons calendar, using Indigenous and Western knowledges, support cultural fire management?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Co‐producing a fire and seasons calendar to support renewed Indigenous cultural fire management

McKemey

Ens²,

Hunter³

et al. 2021

Austral Ecology

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Indigenous knowledge emphasises the importance of cultural connections between humans and the biophysical world. In the face of threats to the maintenance and transfer of Indigenous knowledge, novel approaches such as seasonal calendars are emerging as tools to share knowledge and guide management of natural and cultural resources. The renewal of Indigenous cultural fire management in southeast Australia provided an opportunity to explore whether the co-production of a fire and seasons calendar, using Western and Indigenous knowledges, can support cultural fire management. We present a case study of cross-cultural collaboration between scientists and the Banbai Aboriginal rangers at Wattleridge Indigenous Protected Area, New South Wales. We reviewed literature from various disciplines (archaeological, ethnohistorical, Indigenous and ecological) and undertook participatory action research and interviews to collate relevant information. This was synthesised in Winba = Fire, the Banbai Fire and Seasons Calendar, which is used by the Banbai rangers to guide cultural burning, share cross-cultural knowledge and increase awareness of Indigenous cultural fire management. The process of co-producing knowledge, revitalising culture, caring for Country, working together and supporting self-determination is relevant for many Indigenous communities around the world.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Co‐producing a fire and seasons calendar to support renewed Indigenous cultural fire management

McKemey

Ens²,

Hunter³

et al. 2021

Austral Ecology

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“…This resistance to change from a zero-fire policy to the presently implemented IFM program can be explained by a historical colonial legacy [6,16,17,55], but also by considerable uncertainty related to the effects of different fire regimes on very diverse ecosystems [4,42]. Since local communities are deeply involved in fire management activities and in a landscape where fire ignitions are predominantly human, the exchange of knowledge among environmental managers, researchers, and these traditional communities is essential to develop strategies to better conserve tropical savannas [108,113]. Associated with other ecological variables, our results may also provide crucial insights about regional ecological impacts and the effects of differing fire-management practices within each region, thus supporting the development of locally adjusted fire-management practices.…”

Section: Final Remarksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prescribed Burning Reduces Large, High-Intensity Wildfires and Emissions in the Brazilian Savanna

Santos

Nogueira

Souza

et al. 2021

Fire

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Brazil has recently (2014) changed from a zero-fire policy to an Integrated Fire Management (IFM) program with the active use of prescribed burning (PB) in federal Protected Areas (PA) and Indigenous Territories (IT) of the Brazilian savanna (Cerrado). PB is commonly applied in the management of fire-prone ecosystems to mitigate large, high-intensity wildfires, the associated emissions, and high fire suppression costs. However, the effectiveness of such fire management in reducing large wildfires and emissions over Brazil remains mostly unevaluated. Here, we aim to fill the gap in the scientific evidence of the PB benefits by relying on the most up-to-date, satellite-derived fire datasets of burned area (BA), fire size, duration, emissions, and intensity from 2003 to 2018. We focused on two Cerrado ITs with different sizes and hydrological regimes, Xerente and Araguaia, where IFM has been in place since 2015. To understand fire regime dynamics, we divided the study period into three phases according to the prevalent fire policy and the individual fire scars into four size classes. We considered two fire seasons: management fire season (MFS, which goes from rainy to mid-dry season, when PBs are undertaken) and wildfires season (WFS, when PBs are not performed and fires tend to grow out of control). Our results show that the implementation of the IFM program was responsible for a decrease of the areas affected by high fire recurrence in Xerente and Araguaia, when compared with the Zero Fire Phase (2008–2013). In both regions, PB effectively reduced the large wildfires occurrence, the number of medium and large scars, fire intensity, and emissions, changing the prevalent fire season from the WFS to the MFS. Such reductions are significant since WFS causes higher negative impacts on biodiversity conservation and higher greenhouse gas emissions. We conclude that the effect on wildfires can still be reduced if effective fire management policies, including PB, continue to be implemented during the coming decades.

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“…Searches were then made of several databases of fire-specific literature. We considered for inclusion all sources listed in six existing databases and literature reviews focused on human fire use 5,11,12,13,14,53 . Finally, we applied another search string to the titles and abstracts of all material in the catalogue of the Fire Research Institute Library 54 (see supplementary methods 1).…”

Section: Data Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global decline in subsistence-oriented and smallholder fire use

Smith

Perkins

Mistry

2021

Preprint

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Controlled fire use by hunter-gatherers and smallholder agriculturalists and pastoralists shapes ecologies and enhances livelihoods worldwide. Yet, at the global scale, we know little about how these practices influence human wellbeing, ecologies, and wildfire risk. As a basis for global syntheses, we collated information from the literature about fire practices in 587 case study locations spanning the globe. Here, we assess the coverage and completeness of this data. Limited quantitative data, particularly, presents a challenge for improved modelling of anthropogenic influences on fire regimes. We also analyse global trends in fire practices from these studies, finding evidence that subsistence-oriented fire practices have declined in recent decades, while market-oriented fire practices have increased. The case studies point to important drivers of these changes, especially economic pressures, and state governance. We discuss the implications of these findings for fire policy, and future research.

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Indigenous fire management: a conceptual model from literature

Cited by 38 publications

References 43 publications

Co‐producing a fire and seasons calendar to support renewed Indigenous cultural fire management

Co‐producing a fire and seasons calendar to support renewed Indigenous cultural fire management

Prescribed Burning Reduces Large, High-Intensity Wildfires and Emissions in the Brazilian Savanna

Global decline in subsistence-oriented and smallholder fire use

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