Understanding fire conflict through stakeholder mapping in Madagascar's grassy biomes

Abstract Fire management in biodiverse regions where rural communities depend on traditional fire‐use practices presents a complex global challenge, particularly in Madagascar where fire is considered a threat to forests yet is essential for maintaining grassland ecosystem health and rural livelihoods. Perceived conflict between traditional fire‐use practices and conservation objectives hinders effective fire management. Understanding stakeholder perspectives on fire drivers is essential for adaptive, culturally inclusive management. We used fuzzy cognitive mapping, a semi‐quantitative cognitive mapping method, to capture and compare stakeholder perceptions of fire drivers across five groups: government officials, conservation practitioners, rural community leaders, farmers and herders. Hierarchical clustering was applied to the resulting cognitive maps to identify the patterns of similarity and divergence across groups, assessing where perspectives align or conflict. Significant divisions exist in perceptions. Rural farmers and herders prioritised variables which emphasised fire's functional role in sustaining livelihoods, while government and conservation officials prioritised variables which emphasised irrational fire use, fire's destructive impact and the need for stricter and more effective law enforcement. The views of rural community leaders expressed a blend of perspectives, aligning with both conservation groups and herders and farmers, suggesting that they may serve a bridging role and could be key partners in mediating more inclusive fire management approaches. All stakeholders recognised that pasture burning, agricultural fires and arson fires are influenced by socio‐economic variables including weak institutions, poor basic services and cattle rustling, providing a potential foundation for building collaborative fire management strategies. Policy Implications. Our results highlight that weak institutions, limited rural services and cattle rustling are key drivers of uncontrolled grassland fires. Current policies that criminalise fire use fail to address these underlying causes. Formalising community‐led fire management institutions within provincial and national governance frameworks, facilitated by trusted local community leaders, would help align local priorities with land‐use planning and service provision. Such approaches could shift fire management away from punitive enforcement towards more legitimate and coordinated foundations for effective and equitable fire governance, with potential applications for similar resource conflicts globally. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.