Indigenous Fire Use to Manage Savanna Landscapes in Southern Mozambique

Shaffer, L. Jen

doi:10.4996/fireecology.0602043

Cited by 69 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Globally, large numbers of people use fire as a tool to sustain livelihoods in ways that have been handed down across many generations [27]. Examples of livelihood fire-use range from indigenous Australians [4,28,29] and North Americans [30][31][32][33][34], South Asian forest dwellers [35], European farmers [36], to hunters, farmers and herders in tropical savannas [5,[37][38][39][40][41]. People set fires for numerous reasons that often relate to the reduction of socio-economic risks and improvement of wellbeing.…”

Section: Lessons From Fire-adaptive Communities In Varied Cultural Sementioning

confidence: 99%

Living on a flammable planet: interdisciplinary, cross-scalar and varied cultural lessons, prospects and challenges

Roos

Scott

Belcher

et al. 2016

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Living with fire is a challenge for human communities because they are influenced by socio-economic, political, ecological and climatic processes at various spatial and temporal scales. Over the course of 2 days, the authors discussed how communities could live with fire challenges at local, national and transnational scales. Exploiting our diverse, international and interdisciplinary expertise, we outline generalizable properties of fire-adaptive communities in varied settings where cultural knowledge of fire is rich and diverse. At the national scale, we discussed policy and management challenges for countries that have diminishing fire knowledge, but for whom global climate change will bring new fire problems. Finally, we assessed major fire challenges that transcend national political boundaries, including the health burden of smoke plumes and the climate consequences of wildfires. It is clear that to best address the broad range of fire problems, a holistic wildfire scholarship must develop common agreement in working terms and build across disciplines. We must also communicate our understanding of fire and its importance to the media, politicians and the general public.This article is part of the themed issue 'The interaction of fire and mankind'.

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Section: Lessons From Fire-adaptive Communities In Varied Cultural Sementioning

confidence: 99%

Living on a flammable planet: interdisciplinary, cross-scalar and varied cultural lessons, prospects and challenges

Roos

Scott

Belcher

et al. 2016

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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“…No obstante, aún está poco claro cómo generar diálogos de saberes en contextos interculturales y bajo condiciones de cambio cultural (Sánchez, 2010), particularmente si se quiere evitar correr el riesgo de restar poder a los grupos marginados (Leach y otros, 2007 Sletto, 2006Sletto, , 2008McGregor y otros, 2010;Miller y Davidson, 2010;Shaffer, 2010) y, en algunos casos, la integración de dicho conocimiento tradicional a las políticas de manejo del fuego (p.e., Cooke, 2000;Russell y otros, 2000;Whitehead, 2003), los estudios sobre diálogos de saberes sobre el fuego, en sí, son prácticamente inexistentes (para una excepción, véase Verran, 2002). Esta ausencia de enfoques interdisciplinarios e interculturales de investigación sobre el fuego y sus impactos restringe nuestro entendimiento del manejo del fuego como sistema social-ecológico complejo (Carmenta y otros, 2011).…”

Section: Diálogo De Saberes Justicia Cognitiva E Interculturalidad Punclassified

A propósito del fuego: diálogo de saberes y justicia cognitiva en territorios indígenas culturalmente frágiles

Rodríguez

Sletto

Leal³

et al. 2016

trilogía Cienc. Tecnol. Soc.

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Este artículo examina el papel central que juega la revitalización cultural, sentando las bases para un diálogo de saberes simétrico respecto a temas ambientales contenciosos. Para ello, se discuten varias experiencias de investigación participativa llevadas a cabo en el Parque Nacional Canaima, Venezuela, entre 1999 y el presente, para facilitar el diálogo sobre el uso fuego al interior del pueblo indígena Pemón, con miras a fortalecer su capacidad de diálogo y negociación con otros actores sobre el manejo sustentable de sus territorios; esto incluyó discusiones sobre procesos de cambio cultural y de formación de identidad. Estas experiencias han demostrado que una vez que se da reconocimiento público a saberes ambientales que han estado históricamente excluidos, como parte de sus propias agendas de reafirmación política y cultural, los pueblos indígenas se pueden sentir más seguros para entablar diálogos con otros actores sobre temas complejos y multifactoriales, como el uso del fuego. Estos procesos de reflexión comunitaria amplia abren paso a una situación de mayor justicia cognitiva en la gestión ambiental y territorial que forma parte de un proceso más amplio de construcción de interculturalidad. El derecho de los pueblos indígenas al autorreflexión, a pensar de manera diferente y a la libre expresión de sus conocimientos y saberes, es esencial para que se pueda dar el dialogo y la interculturalidad en condiciones de equidad.

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“…In contrast, traditional fire knowledge must have evolved through a collective and gradual accumulation of experience, in accordance with other examples of traditional ecological knowledge (Berkes et al 2000). One problem is that most studies of traditional fire management describe fire practices that were already abandoned or under considerable change (Lewis and Ferguson 1988, Storm and Shebitz 2006, Shaffer 2010, which hampers the analysis of people's understanding of fire, current fire regimes, and their ecological effects. In Ethiopia, burning of vegetation is nominally illegal (Melaku Bekele, personal communication), but law enforcement has been weak in remote areas such as Bale; therefore, active fire management is still being practiced.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tending for Cattle: Traditional Fire Management in Ethiopian Montane Heathlands

Johansson¹,

Fetene²,

Malmer³

et al. 2012

E&S

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ABSTRACT. Fire has long been a principal tool for manipulating ecosystems, notably for pastoralist cultures, but in modern times, fire use has often been a source of conflicts with state bureaucracies. Despite this, traditional fire management practices have rarely been examined from a perspective of fire behavior and fire effects, which hampers dialogue on management options. In order to analyze the rationale for fire use, its practical handling, and ecological effects in high-elevation ericaceous heathlands in Ethiopia, we used three different information sources: interviews with pastoralists, field observations of fires, and analysis of vegetation age structure at the landscape level. The interviews revealed three primary reasons for burning: increasing the grazing value, controlling a toxic caterpillar, and reducing predator attacks. Informants were well aware of critical factors governing fire behavior, such as slope, wind, vertical and horizontal fuel structure, and fuel moisture. Recent burns (1-4 years since fire) were used as firebreaks to control the size of individual burns, which resulted in a mosaic of vegetation of different ages. The age structure indicated an average fire return interval of ~10 years. At these elevations (> 3500 m), the dry period is unreliable, with occasional rains. Of all observed fires, 83% were ignited during very high Fire Weather Index levels, reached during only 11% of all days of the year. Burning is illegal, but if this ban was respected, our data suggest that the Erica shrubs would grow out of reach of cattle within a few years only, creating a dense and continuous canopy. This would also create a risk of large high-intensity wildfires since the landscape is virtually devoid of natural fuel breaks. Under the present management regime, this heathland ecosystem should be quite resilient to degradation by fire due to a relatively slow fuel buildup (limiting fire intervals) and an effective regrowth of Erica shoots. Nevertheless, if burning is done during severe drought, there may be a risk of smoldering fires killing the lignotubers. Given the intimate knowledge of fire behavior and fire effects among these pastoralists, it should be possible to develop a fire management plan that can sustain the present land use and ecosystem, and be sanctioned by both authorities and the local community.

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Indigenous Fire Use to Manage Savanna Landscapes in Southern Mozambique

Cited by 69 publications

References 21 publications

Living on a flammable planet: interdisciplinary, cross-scalar and varied cultural lessons, prospects and challenges

Living on a flammable planet: interdisciplinary, cross-scalar and varied cultural lessons, prospects and challenges

A propósito del fuego: diálogo de saberes y justicia cognitiva en territorios indígenas culturalmente frágiles

Tending for Cattle: Traditional Fire Management in Ethiopian Montane Heathlands

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