Region Nine Indigenous representatives have expressed growing concern over the country’s lack of a national policy on fire management and have taken steps to rectify this failing.
A release on Friday from the South Rupununi District Council (SRDC) stated that over 20 of its representatives from the Deep South, South Central, Central, North, and South Pakaraimas sub-districts met in Lethem from March 21 to 23, to address their growing concerns about fire management in Guyana. Draft Rupununi Fire Management Recommendations were developed and presented to regional and national stakeholders including the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI), Rupununi District Council, Protected Areas Commission, and Rupununi Livestock Producers Association, for feedback and support.
The conference was organised by the SRDC and the UK-based Leverhulme Centre for Wildfires, Environment and Society.
The basis of this action, the release pointed out, was the fact that fire is “intimately” tied to local livelihoods, culture and the plants and animals in fire-adapted ecosystems such as savannahs. It noted that in the Rupununi, fire is used for subsistence activities such as farming and grazing cattle, and Indigenous people have been using techniques such as savannah patch burning (setting frequent, small, controlled fires over time) to create a patchwork landscape that acts as a natural firebreak limiting the spread of wildfires. However, with the erosion of traditional knowledge, changes in land use, governance, and climate unpredictability, uncontrolled fires are increasing, with negative impacts to habitats and property.
The release quoted Kid James of the SRDC as saying, “Fire is becoming an issue across the Rupununi savannahs, especially in the dry season. At all levels, fire is not a topic that is discussed generally as part of development. Traditional knowledge on how to properly manage fire is documented but the practice is declining. It is time that we sit down and seriously consider how we address fire management combining traditional knowledge with local, national and regional strategies.”
The release said Region Nine NAREI official Vitus Spencer acknowledged, “Fire management is critical in safeguarding livelihoods like agriculture in the Rupununi, especially in the context of global warming and climate change”.
The release pointed out that Guyana does not have a national policy on fire management. A National Wildfire Strategy developed in 2008 contained useful proposals but was never followed through. It noted that the impacts of fire on forests and the greenhouse gas emissions from burning are closely linked to the effectiveness of climate change mitigation programmes. As Guyana proceeds with its Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) and carbon credit payment schemes, fire will become increasingly significant as a key agent to consider in national policies, it added.
The Rupununi Fire Management Recommendations were agreed to by the Indigenous representatives and taken to a workshop in Georgetown on March 27, to engage national agencies, according to the release.
Toshao Mike Williams of Annai district and North Rupununi District Development Board; Nicholas Fredericks of Shulinab and South Rupununi District Council and Joylyn Farias of Nappi Village and Central Rupununi, discussed the Rupununi Fire Management Recommendations with national stakeholders including Guyana Forestry Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, Protected Areas Commission, University of Guyana, World Wildlife Fund, and Conservation International – Guyana. The recommendations identify strengthening of local community practices and governance as well as areas in which support will be needed from regional and national agencies.
It was stated that the response was positive with discussions on taking the process forward at the national level.
According to the release, Williams said, “We as local people in Region Nine have taken the lead in discussing fire management. These discussions come at a time when there are increasing climate change concerns and in Guyana more funding coming in to support forest management in the context of climate change. I hope the national agencies can take our lead, build upon, and provide support for our recommendations for fire management.”
