Skip to main content
Author(s):
Bibiana A. Bilbao, Jayalaxshmi Mistry, Adriana Millán, Andrea Berardi
Year Published:

Cataloging Information

Topic(s):
Fire & Traditional Knowledge

NRFSN number: 19891
FRAMES RCS number: 58225
Record updated:

Although there is convincing scientific research for the role of Indigenous fire practices in sustainable land management, Indigenous peoples' involvement in policy-making is limited. This paper presents findings from a fire management workshop where experiences and perspectives were shared among 60 academic, government, and Indigenous representatives from 27 organizations from Venezuela, Brazil, and Guyana. The data, in the form of small group discussions, participatory drawings, whole group reflections, and videos, showed that although there was general acceptance about the central role of fire in traditional Indigenous livelihoods and its importance for protecting the biological and cultural diversity of ecosystems, there were also tensions around the past imposition of a dominant fire exclusion discourse of governmental institutions in Indigenous territories. Overcoming the gaps derived from different experiences and historical worldviews, and building mutual trust and respect were the main challenges when integrating multiple perspectives through the 'intercultural interface' of institutions working on environmental management and governance. The elaboration of a common declaration and next steps in the framework of a 'Participatory and Intercultural Fire Management Network', created during the workshop to enhance a sustainable fire policy, revealed the conviction of working together for Indigenous fire management legitimization and strengthening from all participants of the three countries.

Citation

Bilbao, Bibiana A.; Mistry, Jayalaxshmi; Millán, Adriana; Berardi, Andrea. 2019. Sharing multiple perspectives on burning: towards a participatory and intercultural fire management policy in Venezuela, Brazil, and Guyana. Fire 2(3):39. https://doi.org/10.3390/fire2030039

Access this Document

Treesearch

publication access with no paywall

Check to see if this document is available for free in the USDA Forest Service Treesearch collection of publications. The collection includes peer reviewed publications in scientific journals, books, conference proceedings, and reports produced by Forest Service employees, as well as science synthesis publications and other products from Forest Service Research Stations.