Guyana joined 14 other countries in a regional workshop on Integrated Fire Management, aimed at reducing wildfire risks, protecting livelihoods, and strengthening environmental resilience across Latin America and the Caribbean.
The International Workshop on the Incorporation of Integrated Fire Management into Public Policies, National Plans, and Sectoral Strategies was held at the Regional Office of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for Latin America and the Caribbean, a release said. Representatives from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, and Uruguay also participated.
Integrated Fire Management (IFM) is a holistic approach that recognises the ecological, cultural, and social roles of fire. It promotes actions including prevention, controlled use, response, recovery, and financing, to reduce wildfire impacts, protect biodiversity, and ensure the resilience of territories and communities.
Brazil is the only country in the region with an active national IFM policy, while Colombia has begun a legislative process with a bill that has passed its second reading. Other countries vary in their progress, with some advancing institutional coordination and others in early technical and regulatory exploration.
The workshop took place amid increasing wildfires across the region and their effects on ecosystems, biodiversity, livelihoods, and food security. It provided a platform for peer dialogue and learning to explore how to institutionalise IFM beyond fire suppression to encompass prevention, controlled use, response, recovery, and financing.
The event was organised by FAO through the FiRe Project, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) via the CoRAmazonia project, with financial support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
Participants included Flávia Saltini, General Coordinator for Forest Fire Prevention at Brazil’s IBAMA; Captain Lina Marín, National Director of the Colombian Fire Department; César Robles, General Manager for Fire Management at Mexico’s CONAFOR; and Gastón Martínez, Director General of Forestry at Uruguay’s Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries, among other government representatives.
The workshop concluded with the identification of common regional challenges and opportunities to strengthen cooperation, promote good practices, and advance more resilient fire management.
