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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRASILIA 000712 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV KGHG EAGR EAID SOCI BR
SUBJECT:  Brazil - Focus on Forest Fire Prevention 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY:  The Brazilian environmental protection agency (IBAMA) 
and its forest fire prevention unit (PREVFOGO) are seeking ways to 
better control forest fires.  These efforts included the 
organization of two seminars in March 2008 focused on promotion of 
inter-agency coordination and advanced planning for fire prevention 
efforts in the Federal District and the Amazon region.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  IBAMA's National Center of Prevention and Combat of Forest Fire 
(PREVFOGO) plays a leading role in combating forest fires.  They are 
seeking to improve their capabilities.  As part of that effort, 
PREVFOGO and the Federal District's Environment and Urban 
Development State Secretariat (SEDUMA) hosted the 10th Federal 
District Forest Fire Forum and 1st Seminar on Amazon without Fire on 
March 1-4, 2008, bringing together over 70 participants from 
scientific institutions, universities, and governmental 
organizations.  The Italian Cooperation General Direction also 
provided financial support to the Amazon without Fire program. 
 
¶3.  Brazil is currently ranked one of the top five greenhouse gas 
producers worldwide, with an estimated 75 percent of emissions cause 
by fires related to deforestation.  Agricultural burning practices 
are also common in Brazil, ranging in scale from the itinerant 
cultivation traditions of small indigenous groups, to the large and 
highly intensified production systems of sugar cane and cotton.  On 
a broad scale, fire promotes environmental damage through factors 
including greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity reduction, damage 
to soils, and human health risks.  Deforested and degraded areas are 
more susceptible to subsequent forest fires than healthy forests. 
 
¶4.  In the case of the Federal District, burning for agricultural 
preparation has contributed to devastation of the region's Cerrado 
ecosystems and local fauna and flora (loss of biodiversity), 
reduction in water infiltration, accidental death and property loss. 
 With 42 percent rural land, the Federal District is heavily 
impacted by fire each dry season (May - October).  Moreover, Federal 
District fire management specialists are challenged to overcome 
recurring peat fires.  Tropical peat lands consist of humid layers 
of forest debris that serve as gigantic stores of carbon.  When dry, 
these reserves pose major fire hazards, as peat fire can burn almost 
indefinitely, even underground, until fuel is exhausted.  Peat fires 
are emerging as a global threat with significant economic, social 
and ecological impacts. 
 
¶5.  The National Institute for Space Research (INPE) employs 
real-time fire monitoring via satellite that shows a large 
proportion of fires occurring in deforested, degraded areas.  Fires 
are set for a variety of reasons including:  "slash and burn" 
agricultural pre-planting practices, sugar cane manual harvest time, 
land tenure controversies, and vandalism/arson.  Over 300,000 heat 
points (fires) covering millions of Km2 are detected by INPE 
annually through satellite images, 85% of which occur in the Amazon 
states (Legal Amazon).  Among recent years, 2004 recorded the 
highest number of fires, with progressive decreases observed in 2005 
and 2006. 
 
¶6.  The Brazilian Agricultural Enterprise (EMBRAPA) has developed a 
campaign to reduce the use of fire for agricultural preparations. 
The goal of the campaign is sensitize communities to the damage 
caused by indiscriminate and off-season field burning, suggesting 
alternatives practices that can substitute for fire in agricultural 
production systems.  Primary objectives of the campaign are to 
reduce deforestation, reduce the use of fire in cattle production, 
and educate producers of technologies for fire control. 
 
¶7.  The Italian Fire Cooperation program "Amazon without Fire" has 
expanded Italian fire prevention cooperation in 34 municipalities of 
the States of Acre, Mato Grosso and Para in the last seven years. 
The Italian program attributes success to stakeholder involvement 
and community management plan development.  According to Italian 
representative Roberto Bianchi, the numerous positive program 
results included: 
 
 - 75 percent fire reduction in municipalities; 
 
BRASILIA 00000712  002 OF 002 
 
 
- Training of 50.000 families in the rural and urban families; 
- Training of doctors, nurses, and health agents in respiratory 
diseases treatment; 
- Agroforestry practices focused on perennial cultivation, 
ecological pastureland management, and creation of private 
reserves; 
- Social outreach stimulating literacy and fire-sensitive 
environmental education; 
- Civil society participation via "Environmental Defense Local 
Committees" 
- Radio-based public service announcements promoting fire 
management, respiratory diseases prevention and information and dry 
season fire calendar information. 
 
¶8.  In conclusion, enhanced inter-agency coordination and advanced 
planning amongst Brazilian institutions represent two elements of a 
national strategy to reduce the incidence of fire related to 
deforestation and agricultural production.  These fire prevention 
efforts also will contribute to broader plans to reduce Brazilian 
greenhouse gas emissions. 
 
CHICOLA