Paradigmas da Gestão do Fogo em Áreas Protegidas no Mundo e o Caso da Estação Ecológica Serra Geral do Tocantins

Abstract

Duas abordagens claras de gestão do fogo podem ser observadas em áreas protegidas pelo mundo: uma está associada ao paradigma do fogo zero, pautada em políticas de proibição do uso do fogo e de exclusão do fogo dos ecossistemas; e outra baseada no manejo do fogo­, que considera o papel ecológico do fogo nos ecossistemas, suas necessidades de uso para práticas tradicionais e o contexto territorial no qual estão inseridas. Este artigo emerge de uma longa reflexão e aprendizados dos autores a partir da experiência de mudança de paradigmas na gestão do fogo na Estação Ecológica Serra Geral do Tocantins, sistematizada em uma dissertação de mestrado profissional. O presente ensaio apresenta e caracteriza os dois paradigmas e derivações, à luz de uma perpectiva holística que considerou a influência dos contextos ecológico, sócio-político e normativo na determinação de política de gestão de uso ou exclusão do fogo em unidades de conservação, especialmente aquelas que protegem ecossistemas naturalmente propensos a sua passagem.

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“…Since 2019, fires in agricultural production spaces (comprising roças, home gardens, and agroforests) of black peasants and quilombola communities have been spreading along the agricultural frontier known as Matopiba, raising concerns about the use of fire in disputed areas. 4 Although fire is a widely used traditional resource management strategy for peasants, in recent years, it has also been associated with environmental degradation and agribusiness expansion areas (Fagundes 2019;Moura et al 2019;Barradas et al 2020), especially in the Amazon and the Cerrado. 5…”

“…In the state of Tocantins, the location of the case studies in this article, the use and management of fire by traditional populations within a protected area (Unidade de Conservação, UC) has undergone a process of demarginalisation. The work carried out since 2014 in the Conservation Unit of the Serra Geral in Tocantins state (Estação Ecológica Serra Geral do Tocantins, EESGT) is an example of an integrated fire management plan that respected the knowledge of the quilombola and was the first in Brazil to be developed and implemented in a federally protected area (Barradas et al 2020). This success was possible mainly because the ecological station is home to eight quilombola communities recognised by the Palmares Cultural Foundation (Fundação Cultural Palmares, FCP) 11 (Beserra et al 2014).…”

Integrated fire management in the Brazilian Cerrado: advances and challenges

“…With an increased number of policies prohibiting the use of fire and the consequent accumulation of combustible material, the frequency and severity of forest fires have increased, especially in protected areas. Large and frequent fires have also highlighted the financial and resource limitations of the public institutions responsible for controlling them (Barradas et al 2020). It should be noted that the consequences of such policies had already been seen in other countries, such as the United States, South Africa and Australia.…”

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

“…For each scar size class, we conducted separate analyses for the 2 fire seasons, determined by management practices: management fire season (MFS) encompassing the months when PBs are conducted, and wildfire season (WFS), corresponding to the months when PBs are not conducted, and fires are considered "bad-fires" by local inhabitants. The MFS was determined in each IT based on local ecological knowledge, as the periods when fire impacts on biodiversity reduce due to biophysical conditions, plant phenology (especially flowering and fruiting periods), and animal reproduction/nesting/nursing periods [16,46,83,84]. In Xerente, PBs are carried out from January to June (MFS), whereas any fires between July and December are considered wildfires (WFS).…”