Traditional Fire Knowledge: A Thematic Synthesis Approach

Abstract

Building fire-adaptive communities and fostering fire-resilient landscapes have become two of the main research strands of wildfire science that go beyond strictly biophysical viewpoints and call for the integration of complementary visions of landscapes and the communities living there, with their legacy of knowledge and subjective dimensions. Both indigenous fire management (IFM) and local fire management (LFM) are rooted in traditional fire knowledge and are among the most important contributions that rural communities can make to management partnerships. Focusing specifically on traditional fire knowledge (TFK), we examine the scholarly literature on TFK using a thematic synthesis approach. We extract themes from the literature and cluster and synthesize them into four analytical themes: (a) TFK within the fire ecology global research field; (b) the role of TFK in integrated fire management; (c) governance; and (d) TFK within global fire management research needs. Who the researchers are, the topics they study, how they approach these topics, and where they focus can help us also to understand possible biases in their contributions to the topics. The analysis conducted reveals the existing gap in current research on local fire knowledge among non-Indigenous populations. This paper offers a call to action to include indigenous and non-indigenous local knowledge and voices on this important topic. Evidence drawn from the thematic synthesis of the literature can help to re-focus research and awareness on this multidisciplinary phenomenon.

Indigenous use of fire in the paramo ecosystem of southern Ecuador: a case study using remote sensing methods and ancestral knowledge of the Kichwa Saraguro people

“…For example, Anderson ( 2018 ) and Long et al ( 2021 ) state that in the western United States, Indigenous communities have long relied on the use of fire to manage their environment and have expressed interest in reasserting their traditional fire management practices (Goode et al 2018 ; Clark et al 2021 ). In this context, Vázquez-Varela et al ( 2022 ) propose a new paradigm of efficient fire management, which is committed to overcoming strictly biophysical visions of the landscape and claim the need to integrate ancestral knowledge of the communities that inhabit them, generating more efficient proposals for integrated fire management (Higuera et al 2019 ). Perhaps, in southern Ecuador, the Indigenous vision of fire should be included to generate new proposals for integrated fire management.…”

Exploring the ethnobiological practices of fire in three natural regions of Ecuador, through the integration of traditional knowledge and scientific approaches

“…These differences and similarities, reflected in traditional burning techniques, could be effectively integrated as mentioned earlier into an integrated fire management (IFM) system or burning plans. In support of this idea, Vázquez-Varela et al [ 76 ] advocate for the incorporation of traditional knowledge from local communities into fire management approaches, proposing more effective IFM strategies [ 77 ]. Given the positive impacts observed in the studied areas of Ecuador, characterized by regimes of low to moderate-severity fire, it would be important to consider farmers' perspectives on fire use, which could generate innovative proposals for IFM.…”

Decolonising Fire Science by Reexamining Fire Management across Contested Landscapes: A Workshop Approach

“…This contributes to broadening awareness and discussions over challenges related to wildfire management in Kenya, as well as in other parts of the world where the issues captured in these artworks, such as evolving Indigenous fire practices and the coloniality-wildfire nexus, are experienced. Regarding the aims of the workshop Fire 2024, 7,94 to establish research partnerships and explore opportunities for decolonising fire management [117], these artworks have catalysed further art-science collaborations between Leverhulme Wildfires and BID-C relating to climate justice [118]. They have also led to additional projects with Shadrack Musyoki centered around science communications for diverse audiences.…”