Paradigms of Fire Management in Protected Areas in the World and the Case of the Serra Geral do Tocantins Ecological Station

Abstract

Two contrasting approaches to fire management can be observed in protected areas around the world: one is associated with the zero fire perspective, based on policies to prohibit the use and to exclude fire from ecosystems, especially in protected areas; the other is based on integrated fire management, which considers the ecological role of fire in ecosystems, the importance and requirements of traditional practices and the cultural and territorial context in which they are inserted. It is also observed the tolerance to fire as a necessary evil, to be planned to minimize losses, what seems more related to the zero fire perspective. Both approaches are based on cultural issues and linked to different sets of perceptions and scientific, cultural, social, ecological and political contexts, thus constituting different paradigms in environmental management and specifically in the management of protected areas. This essay characterizes and discusses the two paradigms and the contexts in which they prevail, brings a reflection on the issue in the world, especially in regions with fire prone ecosystems, opening a dialogue with the Brazilian context, illustrated with the experience in fire management at the Serra Geral do Tocantins Ecological Station. This large protected area in Brazilian savanna led the ranking of the most burned in the country for many years until the implementation of integrated fire management. We conclude reinforcing the idea that democratic management contexts, at the national level and within the scope of protected areas, are strongly related to the adoption of fire use practices, including those directed to the conservation of biodiversity, thus articulating multiple objectives.