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11 measures against forest fires across 4 strong axes, starting in 2021: this is the result of collective intelligence work led by more than 50 organizations and made public on September 14, 2021 by Alamino, the Agora of Landscapes and Forests of Madagascar, in the presence of the Minister of the Environment and Sustainable Development, who supported and took part in this effort.
Wildfires have serious consequences for the population and environment of Madagascar. While massive in scale and now largely out of control, some are managed and pose no problem, but many cause significant damage. Alamino calls on everyone to take action.
Wildfires are a massive phenomenon in Madagascar, and today are largely out of control. Some are managed and pose no problem, but many others cause significant damage with very negative consequences.
Solving this situation is a vital issue for Madagascar. 80% of the population depends on the primary sector, and fires destroy the landscapes they rely on. They contribute to the retreat of forests and biodiversity loss, soil and water resource degradation, and the aridification of landscapes. All of this directly worsens malnutrition and poverty. Furthermore, wildfires contribute to air pollution, which affects millions of Malagasy people each year.
Faced with the urgency to act, the Alamino initiative proposes the following measures:
Spark a major national momentum
Spark a major national momentum by recognizing fires as a national disaster requiring the mobilization of the entire Nation, by creating a national day for fighting fires, dedicated in particular to local prevention actions to protect reforestation sites and forests, and by launching a national awareness campaign with five target audiences: local authorities, rural communities, urban populations, transport users, and spiritual leaders.
Mobilize and coordinate stakeholders
Mobilize and coordinate stakeholders by creating a National Anti-Fire Centre (CNAF), responsible for bringing together stakeholders and information to coordinate actions, by relaunching the Permanent Fire Control Committees, particularly in areas where the fire situation is critical, and by mobilizing law enforcement to support fire monitoring and extinction, ensure compliance with the law, and protect agents involved in firefighting.
Monitor and report fires
Monitor and report fires by strengthening ground-level monitoring (patrols and watchtowers) to identify illegal/at-risk fires and report them, by strengthening monitoring through satellite imagery, particularly using the FIRMS NASA tool to report fires and understand their evolution by region, and by testing drone-based fire monitoring at a pilot site.
Contain and extinguish fires
Contain and extinguish fires by generalizing effective firebreaks, particularly around national parks and reforestation sites, by providing (and managing) appropriate equipment to enable authorities and local communities to extinguish fires, and by testing the use of helicopters to extinguish fires using “Bambi buckets”, initially at a pilot site.
These proposals stem from 7 workshops and more than 50 interviews with stakeholders across all relevant sectors. The Minister of the Environment and Sustainable Development declared: “The measures presented in this document, developed within Alamino in close collaboration with my teams and myself, fit within the context of the National Fire Management Strategy, and are an important contribution to its ownership and implementation by all stakeholders.”
According to the 41 members of the Alamino Council, Madagascar loses approximately 400,000 hectares of forest per year and it is time to react. They have identified 4 priority work themes for 2021: fire management, reforestation and landscape restoration, land tenure and territorial planning, and education and awareness.
This initiative is launched at the start of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030). According to Tim Christophersen, coordinator of this decade within the United Nations Environment Programme: “To reduce poverty in Madagascar, it is essential to recover productive and fertile landscapes. This is a very complex challenge that requires a strong multi-stakeholder approach. Alamino’s choice to bet on collective intelligence is therefore highly relevant.”
To learn more about the Alamino initiative, click here