Posted by Ted Feldpausch
14 November 2021The four-day workshop “Science and Practices of Fire in Amazonia: past, present and future”, organized by the University of Exeter, with Brazilian institutions (Cemaden, INPE and UNEMAT), was held between 8 and 11 November – online. The workshop was attended by almost 300 people*, most of them Brazilian and about 15% of foreigners (Europe, Africa, South and North America) with high participation by women (57%) and black and indigenous people (~50%). The workshop reached academics, private and public sector representatives with experience in studying fires in Amazonia, monitoring and managing fires, and proposing public policies to control fire in Amazonia.
The workshop consisted of four sessions to discuss past, present and future fire in Amazonia and planning fire prevention and management, based on an analysis on a continental and regional scale, with a focus on the Arc of Deforestation in the Amazon, specifically in Mato Grosso state, one of the most affected by the occurrence of forest fires. The workshop, conducted in Portuguese, promoted (i) talks presented by researchers, ONG representatives and military firefighters about the effects of fire in the Amazon forest, soil and carbon emission since the Pre-Columbian people, the future perspective of fire in the Amazon, challenges in fire management and tools to access fire risk and impact; (ii) training and discussion of the results of recent research on the theme of fire; and its implications for practices and strategies to reduce the risk and impacts of fire in the Amazon. At the end of the event, the participants then identified and prioritised the weakness, straightness and opportunities to prevent fire in Amazonia.
Wordcloud summarises the weakness, straightness and opportunities to prevent fire in Amazonia identified by the participants.
All talks were recorded (subtitled in Spanish and English) and are available on the links below. Also, much of the valuable information shared in this event is of interest to the general community. To make it public and accessible, the workshop organisers are producing comic strips with hand-drawn artwork by Brazilian artists and factsheets that will be available online and printed to be distributed to public schools and to use in outreach events in Amazonia.
Access films from the workshop below:
Support for the workshop was provided by the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC, project NE/N011570/1) and Centro Nacional de Monitoramento e Alertas de Desastres Naturais (CEMADEN), Brazil.
(*) Metrics about the workshop participants were collected through google forms.