By Lucas Guaraldo*
The destructive effects of fire and its potential as an ancestral indigenous management tool were the theme of Proteja Talks 2025 in the panel “Traditional Fire Use in Times of Change”, held on the 13th, as a side event of COP30, at Casa Balaio, in Belém. The event brought together representatives of indigenous and traditional communities to point out the risk of fire in the territories in the context of climate change and an increase in the risk of uncontrolled fires.
Driven by the drought that hit Brazil in 2024, more than 30.8 million hectares were burned in Brazil, mainly affecting forests and other areas of native vegetation in the Amazon and Cerrado. Fire has also had a significant effect on Brazilian emissions, accounting for more than 30 million tons of CO2 in the period between June and August last year alone.
“We see the double face of fire. We have the economic and life threat, but we also have the traditional wisdom, the courage of the brigades and the women. Proteja Talks wants to amplify the voice of these people. It’s designed to do that,” says Jarlene Gomes, a researcher at IPAM (Amazon Environmental Research Institute) and organizer of the panel.
With climate change, ancestral practices such as indigenous fire management and the use of fires to prepare crops have become more dangerous and unpredictable, putting territories at risk. Fires started outside indigenous lands also tend to invade protected areas more frequently, creating a scenario of insecurity and loss of food and housing.
“Today it no longer rains on my land. The climate has totally changed. The golden grass we use to survive is getting further and further away. Our fields have been burnt twice in less than two years, after a year of caring for it so that it would grow well and serve to provide us with our livelihoods. All that disappeared in a few days,” said Safira Ribeiro, a resident of the Mumbuca quilombola community in Jalapão, Tocantins.
The Proteja Portal, the project organizing the panel, offers free access to more than 700 documents, videos, photos and infographics on Brazilian protected areas. The initiative brings together efforts for sustainable development and the participation of organized civil society, public and government institutions.
Fire Management
“We know the right time and the wrong time to burn. Fire at the right time can protect vegetation, fruit and people, but if we take too long to burn and someone burns at the wrong time, it spreads. With this drier weather, the fire no longer stops in the high forest, it spreads and we can’t even stop it with machinery,” explains Watatakalu Yawalpiti, leader of the Xingu Indigenous Land Association.
With the policy, traditional practices can adapt to a more extreme climate, protecting nature and maintaining its ecosystem services. For Bianca Coelho, a Chico Mendes Institute official in Integrated Fire Management at the Northern Regional Management, looking on the bright side of fire is an essential step in dealing with fires correctly.
“I’ve always seen fire from the bad side, but today, with the MIF, we’ve given fire a new meaning. For a long time, public bodies saw fire as something bad, but now we know that’s not the case. Many peoples and communities have lived with fire for centuries, in a natural, positive and safe process,” he says.
IPAM journalist, lucas.itaborahy@ipam.org.br*