PAC issues an Emergency Clarion Call on Stakeholders to Address the Growing Wildfires in the Kanuku Mountains

The Protected Areas Commission (PAC) hosted its first hybrid meeting with stakeholder agencies and communities surrounding the Kanuku Mountains Protected Area (KMPA) affected by wildfires. This meeting was held on the 6th of March 2024 to discuss immediate measures that can be taken to support communities in the Rupununi Region. 

Fires have been a pressing matter of urgency in the villages surrounding the KMPA for decades. Stemming from a deeply embedded, traditional practice of burning lands to generate new farm areas for crops, locals have viewed fires as part of the Rupununi lifestyle. Unfortunately, many of these practices were not done within the confines of their knowledge of the seasons, and have drifted out of their control. Climate change has contributed to gradual shifts in the rainy season period and allowed an extended dry season (El Nino effect). Thus, the negative impacts of burning savannah grassland have become a major reason for the proliferation of wildfires.

Stakeholders present at this meeting were widespread and were welcomed by Mr. Jason Fraser, PAC’s Commissioner, who chaired the proceedings. The meeting garnered the attendance of national institutions like the Guyana Fire Service (GFS), the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institution (NAREI), Conservation International-Guyana (CI), Hydromet Service, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI), Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Lethem Power Company, World Wildlife Fund-Guianas (WWF), and the North Rupununi District Development Board (NRDDB). Joining under the auspices of the Lethem PAC Office were participants from the South Rupununi District Council (SRDC), South Rupununi Conservation Society (SRCS), the Civil Defense Commission (CDC), the Guyana Police Force (GPF), the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS), and South Rupununi Conservation Society (SRCS). Moreover, Toshaos and village Councillors from ten (10) of the villages affected by the fires participated in the forum. These villages encompassed Nappi, Shulinab, Parishara, Parikwarinau, Kumu, Moco Moco, Rupunau, Sand Creek, Quarrie and Hiowa. Each representative presented their concerns on the wildfire incidents in their village, informing all stakeholders on the current status of preparedness and suggestions for assistance.

Among those who presented on the issue to provide context to the updates on the wildfires were Technical Director for Conservation International, Mr. René Edwards. He gave a brief highlight of the importance of the use of fires to livelihoods and culture in the Rupununi and provided an update on heat detections seen in the region, including a comparison between 2015 and the current period of uncontrolled fires. Wildfires have increased over the years based on historical data as compared to satellite imagery. Mr. Edwards advised stakeholders to engage the use of the satellite imagery technology in generating a useful perspective to understanding possible fire threats in the regional context. He further recommended to augment this data with information from the ground. Further in the line of presentations, PAC’s Senior Protected Areas officer, Ms. Rameena Mangal working along with the KMPA Site Coordinator, Mr. Francisco Gomes gave the local report on what was happening on the ground from patrols done in the KMPA close to the North Rupununi area. Interviews done in the ten (10) villages confirmed major fires and their signs (smoke filling the air) that have affected villagers.

In the last presentation, Dr. Kayla de Freitas, Programme Coordinator at South Rupununi Conservation Society, provided a global perspective to addressing wildfires, she highlighted that in parts of the world, fire use is suppressed or criminalized, this has only led to exacerbating the wildfire issue. Using case examples from research and on local research conducted for fire management in Shulinab, she advised on four priorities: collaborative and multi-stakeholder engagement at a regional level, creation of community fire management plans and brigades, mapping of fire vulnerable areas, and consistent education and awareness. On the whole, there is deficient data on the matter of fire management in the Rupununi, and globally, fire remains a contention, she stressed the importance of understanding the issue of fire management within Rupununi’s environmental and cultural context.

Mr. Fraser reiterated and urged stakeholders present to provide their input on how they can build on the fire management sensitization and training, provision of equipment, materials, and protective clothing as well as adaptive infrastructural support. From this, stakeholders provided positive feedback on strategies to develop educational and awareness materials with villages, as well as provide infrastructural and equipment support.