Wildfire governance in a tri-national frontier of southwestern Amazonia: Capacities and vulnerabilities

Autor(es)

Pismel, Gleiciane O. ; Marchezini, Victor ; Selaya, Galia ; de Paula, Yara A. P. ; Mendoza, Eddy ; Anderson, Liana O.

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DISASTER RISK REDUCTION; v. 86, p. 17-pg., 2023-01-19.

Resumo

Amazonian wildfires are an increasing hazard to ecosystem services and the regional population. Wildfires can turn into transboundary disasters primarily due to the effects of smoke that cross boundaries, compromising human health, disrupting transport, and affecting the regional econ-omy. Wildfires are an increasing hazard at the southwestern amazonian tri-national frontier, which is composed of Madre de Dios (Peru), Acre (Brazil), and Pando (Bolivia), known as the MAP region. The understanding of wildfire governance is key for disaster risk reduction strate-gies. This paper analyses the perceptions about vulnerabilities and capacities in the wildfire governance in the MAP region, looking at four axes: i) risk knowledge; ii) monitoring; iii) edu-cation and communication; and iv) disaster prevention and response. The online survey (con-ducted between 2020 and 2021) had 111 regional stakeholders (practitioners, policy makers, NGO representatives and scientists). Approximately 60% of the participants considered defores-tation the main driver contributing to wildfires, followed by fire use in agricultural management (58%) and droughts (39%). The main vulnerabilities in governance were organizational and sociocultural. The organizational vulnerability was associated with reduced employees and limited financial resources. In terms of political capacities, participants indicated strong articu-lation involving academia and NGOs. We conclude that the MAP region exhibits multiple vul-nerabilities, such as weak organizations, reduced dialogue between governments and society, advancement of the agricultural frontier and increasing climatic extremes. It is key to prioritize strengthening organizational capacities, community involvement in wildfire governance, and greater integration between organizations and institutions, including seeking to formalize informal cooperation networks. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 18/06093-4 - Métodos de pesquisa multidisciplinar em cenários de riscos e desastres: subsídios à formulação de sistemas de alerta centrados nas pessoas e nas multiameaças
• Beneficiário: Victor Marchezini
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Exterior - Pesquisa