Wildfire protection in indigenous lands of Brazil: the role of fire brigades programs

Brazil’s indigenous lands (ILs) are important for global environmental sustainability. Despite this, ILs are increasingly threatened by wildfires, largely driven by climate change. The main public policy implemented by the Brazilian government to protect ILs has been the Federal Brigades Program (BRIFs), created in 2013 within the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama). Coordinated by the National Center for Prevention and Suppression of Wildfires (Prevfogo), with the support of the National Indigenous Peoples Foundation (Funai), the BRIFs are the result of a long learning process, which led to the integrated fire management (IFM). Since then, protection strategies have begun to value social participation, traditional knowledge, and landscape management with prescribed burning. After a decade of operation, now is an opportune moment to evaluate the results of the BRIFs and the paradigm shift it represented. This study evaluated 42 ILs encompassing 25,355,413.6 hectares. Active fire satellite data, captured from outside the prescribed burning season, allowed estimation of wildfire occurrences. Using a before–after-control-intervention approach, ILs covered and not covered by BRIFs were compared before (2003–2012) and after (2014–2023) the program’s implementation. These treatments were evaluated both collectively and separately by ecosystems: fire-prone savannas (Cerrado biome) and fire-sensitive forests (Amazon biome). The data was analyzed using the Chi-Square Adherence test, graphs, and trend lines. Results show that ILs covered by BRIFs presented a significant reduction of 22.7% in the number of active fires following program implementation, whilst those not covered showed an increase of 12.3%. In the Cerrado biome, the reduction in the ILs covered by BRIFs was evident soon after program implementation. In the Amazon biome, this reduction took longer, but the differences are highlighted by the trend curves. These results were achieved with an annual investment of USD 1.02 per hectare protected. We conclude that BRIFs have been effective in protecting Brazil’s ILs from wildfires. Due to its efficiency, combined with low financial cost and equitable gains, the BRIFs Program offers a model for the protection of regions with ecological and social similarities, such as many tropical countries.