Wildfires and Livelihoods

The Global Forest Watch reported more than 97,500 square miles of the earth’s tree cover vanished last year, an area eleven times the size of Belize (1). Wildfires affected 6.2 million people between 1998-2017, attributing 2,400 deaths, and substantial irrecoverable ecological and economic losses worldwide, the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) reported. The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction warns that, due to Climate Change, the size and frequency of wildfires will grow and its impacts on Latin America and the Caribbean will be tremendous (2).

Belize’s Wildfires 

In Belize, changing climate regimes means longer wildfire seasons, and hotter droughts. Despite this concerning outlook, many human activities contribute to the increased size, severity, and frequency of wildfires. Records in Belize show that wildfires destroy more than 97,260 acres of forests annually and they contribute to significant biodiversity loss, deforestation and forest degradation (3). Between 2019 and 2022, more than 5,090 fire alerts were recorded and in the northern, central and southern regions these conditions have been extensive (1). 

“The rainy season does not eliminate the risks and impacts of wildfires,” warns Mario Muschamp, Terrestrial Manager at the Toledo Institute for Development and the Environment. “While the rainy season alleviates some discomforts caused by wildfires, the lingering dangers remain.” As one of Belize’s Fire Experts who has been working for more than 20 years in the field of forest fire ecology and forest fire management, Muschamp speaks candidly on the historic and recent wildfire behaviors and trends. Muschamp informs that long after wildfires have been extinguished, the risks of erosion, flooding, reduced water quality, and other ecological and economic losses increase. He adds: “Too often, many people assume that the dangers are gone after wildfires, but the reality is that our problems have only just begun.”  

The Impacts

Of the multiple forest threats, fires may have some of the more profound and lasting impacts on people living nearby.

“The first and foremost threat is to life and property,” says Muschamp. As a fire-fighter, he has seen the dangers that wildfires can do to life and property. 

When fire ravages a forested area, it also has direct social and economic bearing on forest-dependent peoples and rural communities. Muschamp recounts that in 2020, many farmers in the southern region lost homes, and a sizable percentage of their crops and cocoa farms because of escaped fires. “It devastated livelihoods, and local timber, agriculture and tourism industries,” Muschamp recalls. He added: “These landscapes and resources are essential for indigenous peoples and local communities either for their supplement or as a direct source of income.”

“No threat has more profound and lasting impacts on forests and people than the one posed by wildfires.”

Belize’s forests and landscapes are important for goods and services that serve as an economic safety-net for thousands of forest-dependent peoples, but wildfires are a direct and real threat to their livelihoods and ways of life in both the dry and rainy seasons. 

While there is still uncertainty about the extent of damage on an annual basis, wildfires also continue to undermine sustainable forest management efforts.  For instance, the timber sector continues to be impeded by large annual economic losses due to uncontrolled wildfires (3).  However, the destruction is more than just merchantable trees. 

Apart from socio-economic impacts, wildfires have destructive ecological consequences and remain the greatest threat to the long-term survival of Belize’s forest and agricultural landscapes. According to the World Health Organization, hotter and drier conditions are drying out ecosystems, increasing the risks of wildfires. As wildfires increase both in frequency and severity, recurrent wildfires reduce the recovery rate of forest species (4). Fires eventually alter the forest structure, composition and cover in several critical areas. Indeed, fires have been known to impact on soil and watersheds, causing soil erosion, removal of forest vegetation near waterways, and eventually impacting water quantity and quality (4). 

Wildfires also trigger health impacts. Air pollution caused by wildfires is known to release massive quantities of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and fine particulate matter into the atmosphere (2). The resulting health effects include respiratory and cardiovascular problems, as well as mental and psychosocial impacts (2).

POTENTIAL CAUSES 

Muschamp explains that while there are some specific natural factors contributing to wildfires, most wildfires in Belize are caused by escaped agricultural fires and arson. Belize Forest Department officials agree and acknowledge that although “slash and burn” is a widely accepted practice for land clearing and food security, many farmers rarely apply the proper controlled fire techniques and most often ignore fire regulations (5). The second major cause of wildfires is arson by illegal hunting fire practices, illegal burning of waste, and poor camping practices (6). 

Muschamp explains that while escaped agricultural fires are common, many farmers employ poor fire practices because of a lack of monitoring and enforcement. He asserts that the enforcement of wildfire laws and regulations is weak. “The thing about Belize is that we have fantastic laws but weak enforcement,” he says.  He asserts that this is not the result of unwillingness by officers to enforce the laws and regulations. “On the contrary,” says Muschamp, “ many of us, both at the national and local levels, want to enforce the fire regulations, but political interference often impedes enforcement.” Yet, enforcement is necessary and critical to ensure that agricultural fires are managed appropriately, and that conditions that make uncontrolled wildfires detrimental are prevented and addressed.

Changes Needed 

• employ preventive measures, 
• manage landscapes, 
• monitor compliance and enforce laws, and;
• execute the fire management plan in the event of wildfire. 

FUTURE OF WILDFIRES