Preventing and managing forest fires

As of November of this year, the Peruvian Civil Defense Institute (INDECI) recorded more than 450 forest fires in the southern Andes, mainly in the regions of Cusco, Apurimac and Ayacucho. The result: thousands of hectares of valuable mountain ecosystems impacted and five people killed. The question is, is there a solution?

Fires in the Andes have destroyed thousands of hectares. ©Andina/Diffusion

Every year this situation is repeated throughout the Andes. At the end of the dry season, highland farmers burn the natural grasses that grow in their fields with the idea that the ash will make their farms more fertile, and in other cases to gain land and create new spaces for planting. But drought, wind and lack of control cause the fire to spread over hundreds and even thousands of hectares, affecting natural areas such as native forests, archaeological sites and protected areas. So far this year INDECI has estimated the loss of 3,000 hectares of natural pastures and almost 400 animals affected by the fires.

Sites of natural and cultural importance such as the Veronica Sanctuary and the archaeological site of Wakrapukara have been affected in recent weeks. This is not to mention the impact on native Andean forests, patches of forest containing endangered species such as the queñual and the kolle, which are important sites of biological diversity.

Joaquín Randall with farmers from Ollantaytambo in the middle of reforestation work. ©Valle Sagrado Verde

Joaquín Randall, a businessman and conservationist, declared in The Guardian: “it is easier to stop a person lighting a match than to put out a 400 hectare fire.” As promoter of the Green Sacred Valley initiative and together with the Municipality of Ollantaytambo, in Cusco, Randall has promoted the organization of 13 forest fire departments, as well as the reforestation of thousands of hectares with native trees such as molle, chachacomo and huaranhuay. “In 2020 a single fire wiped out more than 20,000 replanted trees in a single day. And another killed eight people,” he recalls.

As The Guardian reports, a United Nations report finds that only 1% of funding for fire management is earmarked for prevention. The remainder is used to extinguish them and restore damaged ecosystems. Clearly the wrong approach. The case of Valle Sagrado Verde in the Ollantaytambo district is emblematic and goes beyond the brigades, as it is also focused on raising awareness among the farmers, and on a reforestation and conservation program for the hillsides that for centuries have been mistreated by fire and erosion. The results in times of pandemic are obvious: out of 450 hectares burned in 2020, only 30 hectares were reported in 2021. In 2022, however, fires have again gotten out of control – a fire last October in Ollantaytambo destroyed 2,000 recently planted trees in a few hours – indicating that prevention measures must be more widespread, as well as state control through local governments.

Fire department in Ollantaytambo. ©Valle Sagrado Verde

Achieving community conservation agreements is another way to prevent the systematic burning of Andean mountains and safeguard the important ecosystem services they provide. In Abancay, for example, Regenera works with communities that care for their Andean forests and surrounding plains. Through this agreement, the communities receive incentives from companies and individuals that compensate their carbon footprint through the good maintenance of these lands, avoiding fires and conserving their diversity.

More than half of the world’s population depends on the resources and ecosystem services provided by mountains. It is therefore of great importance to preserve them for the future.