Wildfire prevention in Brazil’s Cerrado: Xerente plan controlled burns with IBAMA

In the Xerente Indigenous Territory in Tocantins, northern Brazil, planned fires were used to lower wildfire risks. The burn was arranged with environmental officials before the driest months of August and September. Xerente communities live in the Cerrado savanna, where large blazes threaten villages each year. Officials expected El Nino to increase drought and heat.

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A joint team from IBAMA and trained Xerente members carried out the operation in the savanna. Some crews lit small fires using drip torches or dry palm leaves. Another group released incendiary spheres from a government helicopter over mapped sites. Crews stepped in at once when flames spread too far. The work left a patchwork of burns.

El Nino wildfire risk in the Cerrado and Amazon

El Nino often raises temperatures and extends dry spells in the Cerrado and the Amazon. During the 2023 to 2024 event, Brazil recorded major fires in 2024. More than 30.8 million hectares, or 76.1 million acres, burned, MapBiomas reported. That area was larger than Italy. The Amazon made up nearly 60 per cent of the burned area.

The Cerrado ranked second, with almost 10 million hectares, or 24.7 million acres, burned. Brazil’s Environment Ministry said it tracked El Nino effects since early this year. It deployed more than 4,000 brigade members across the country. Under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil set a national fire management policy in 2024.

Leandro Maracahipes, a biologist and Yale University researcher, said humidity usually limits Amazon fires. Maracahipes said extreme El Nino years can still raise the forest’s fire risk. Maracahipes added that the Amazon should keep a zero-fire policy. Maracahipes also said the Cerrado can use fire as land management.

Controlled burns policy and Cerrado fire management

Brazil once followed a strict zero-fire approach and tried to stop every small blaze. Over time, that policy lost support among experts and officials. Authorities then shifted towards land management that mixed science and Indigenous practice. In 2014, the government began working with Indigenous communities on controlled burns in some areas.

Leandro Maracahipes said some Cerrado species gain from periodic burns. Natural fires often began with lightning near the start of rains, from October to April. Maracahipes said human activity has pushed more damaging fires into August and September. Fires were often linked to pasture clearing near Xerente lands, surrounded by soy and cattle farms.

Early in the dry season, vegetation held more moisture than later months. Small planned burns reduced grass fuel before peak drought. Those burned strips acted as barriers near villages, headwaters, and sensitive areas. Maracahipes warned that blocking all fire can build fuel loads. Maracahipes said intense flames can kill hardy trees and spread fast.

Marco Borges, an IBAMA agent leading Tocantins prevention work, said officials relied on Xerente expertise. "They know the region, the climate, the vegetation, and the best times to set fires. We began seeking traditional knowledge, learning from them and adapting it to our objectives, aligning with their use of fire,\" Borges said. \"Weve learned they are actually our best teachers.\"

Indigenous knowledge with IBAMA and FUNAI coordination

When government vehicles reached Xerente territory, about 30 Indigenous people waited near a wood-and-thatch tent. The space served as the association headquarters. Two lines formed a corridor for arriving teams. One side wore yellow brigade shirts, green trousers, and boots. The other side included men with painted patterns, some barefoot or in flip-flops.

Chief Lazaro Xerente, 68, stood at the corridor’s end with painted skin and a feathered headdress. Lazaro Xerente thanked the officials, but raised concern about blame. \"People say, Oh, its the Indigenous people who are causing fires, when in fact, since I was born, and long before me, my ancestors have always protected the forest,\" he said. Bolivar Rodrigues Xerente translated.

After major fires, social media posts in Brazil sometimes shared photos without context. Some posts wrongly blamed Indigenous people and public agencies for damage. Fire departments planned each burn, with mapped targets and rules. Teams then met inside a tent around a long wooden table. They mixed satellite information with local knowledge to choose burn areas.

Some Xerente workers were hired by the government for two-year terms. Those workers received training and a monthly salary. Other participants helped as volunteers. Funding also came through a Bunge Foundation and IBAMA partnership. It backed training and equipment for up to 40 Indigenous brigades across five states in the Cerrado and the Amazon.

Andre Lima, secretary for deforestation control and land-use planning, linked fire use to prevention goals. \"When applied with technical expertise, fire can significantly contribute to environmental conservation,\" Lima said. Lima said prescribed burns for agricultural production could help avoid major disasters. Officials said these methods aimed to limit runaway fires in peak drought.

Bolivar Rodrigues Xerente said elders compared shared approaches to flight. \"A bird with two wings can navigate the wind, but with only one wing, it cant,\" he said. \"Technology, without traditional knowledge in the Indigenous communities, doesnt work.\" The Xerente and officials said planned burns were designed to protect the Cerrado during harsher seasons.

With inputs from PTI