Welcome to the Fire Alert System
Extensive bushfires and wildfires in high-biodiversity tropical forests have become a major concern for many countries due to their growing ecological, economic and human health impacts. According to the UN, "unchecked land, bush and forest fires in various parts of the world are rapidly becoming a disaster of regional and global proportions," (UNDAC, 1998). Wildfires stem from many causes: agriculture burning, forest clearing by settlers, and wildlife poaching. Wildfires are often exacerbated by extended dry seasons or droughts, which may be related to the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO).
The Center for Applied Biodiversity Science (CABS) at Conservation International, International Resources Group (IRG), Madagascar's Ministère de l'Environnement, des Forêts et du Tourisme (MEFT), and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) have teamed up with the MODIS Rapid Response System and Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS), University of Maryland to develop an e-mail based alert system warning of fires in or around protected areas and areas of high biological importance.
Regions where the system is currently active:
Madagascar
Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world, and home to an incredible array of biodiversity. There are 22 endemic families of plant and animal life found only here, making it one of the richest Biodiversity Hotspots. Each year enormous areas of Madagascar are engulfed in flames, burning large portions of agricultural lands, grasslands and forests. Precise figures are difficult to obtain, however, the FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment 2005 estimates 33,000 ha of forest and 839,000 ha of other wooded land was disturbed by fire in 2000 (FAO, 2005).
The impact of fires can be devastating and dramatic for humans and wildlife. It can contribute to shifting land cover types and modifying nutrient cycles. Most critically on this island famed for its biodiversity, tavy fire (slash-and-burn agriculture) is the proximate cause behind much deforestation and resulting loss of habitat (Kull 2004). Since both rapid response and mitigation are the keys to wildfire suppression, the purpose of this system is to channel real-time satellite observations of wildfires to the different government agencies, NGO's and community organizations responsible for natural areas management, fire suppression and sustainable economic development.
Bolivia and Peru
Bolivia and Peru are part of the Tropical Andes, the richest and most biologically diverse region on Earth. The Tropical Andes region contains about a sixth of all plant life in less than 1 percent of the world's land area. Although a quarter of its habitat still remains, the region is facing a variety of threats including mining, timber extraction, oil exploration, and narcotics plantations, which are all expanding due to the continual growth of many large cities in the region.
In Peru, slash and burn agriculture is a significant threat to many tropical forest areas of high biodiversity value, while in Bolivia, extensive forest fires are the result of expanding agriculture and cattle ranching, as well as natural pasture burning for grass renewal. During the dry season, stretching from June to November, the BOLFOR Project and Forest Superintendence estimate that more than 100,000 hectares are burned annually in Bolivia (International Forest Fire News, No. 28).
Indonesia
The spectacular flora and fauna of Indonesia are succumbing to the explosive growth of industrial forestry and to the international animal trade that claims tigers, monkeys, and turtle species for food and medicine in other countries. Populations of the orangutan, found only in this hotspot, are in dramatic decline. Some of the last refuges of two Southeast Asia rhino species are also found on the islands of Java and Sumatra.
Like many tropical areas, in Indonesia fire is the primary tool used to clear forests for commercial uses, including rubber, oil palm, and pulp production. During 1997-1998, a combination of extreme drought triggered by El Niño led to widespread, uncontrolled fire, the destruction nearly 10 million hectares of tropical forest and the exposure of 20 million people across Southeast Asia to harmful smoke-borne pollutants (Barber and Schweithelm 2000).
To strengthen enforcement of protected areas in the islands of Sumatra and Borneo, CI is disseminating near real-time fire alerts and illegal logging alerts to Indonesia government counterparts and NGO's who are working with park rangers on the integration of the satellite information into their patrols and park management plans.
Choose to Sign Up or Login to access this important resource.
For access to global fire resources, please visit: Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS), University of Maryland.
Kull, Christian A. Isle of Fire: The Political Ecology of Landscape Burning in Madagascar. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago, 2004.
Barber and Schweithelm. Trial By Fire: Forest Fires and Forestry Policy in Indonesia's Era of Crisis and Reform.World Resources Institute, 2000.
The Center for Applied Biodiversity Science (CABS) at Conservation International, International Resources Group (IRG), Madagascar's Ministère de l'Environnement, des Forêts et du Tourisme (MEFT), and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) have teamed up with the MODIS Rapid Response System and Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS), University of Maryland to develop an e-mail based alert system warning of fires in or around protected areas and areas of high biological importance.
Regions where the system is currently active:
Madagascar
Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world, and home to an incredible array of biodiversity. There are 22 endemic families of plant and animal life found only here, making it one of the richest Biodiversity Hotspots. Each year enormous areas of Madagascar are engulfed in flames, burning large portions of agricultural lands, grasslands and forests. Precise figures are difficult to obtain, however, the FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment 2005 estimates 33,000 ha of forest and 839,000 ha of other wooded land was disturbed by fire in 2000 (FAO, 2005).
The impact of fires can be devastating and dramatic for humans and wildlife. It can contribute to shifting land cover types and modifying nutrient cycles. Most critically on this island famed for its biodiversity, tavy fire (slash-and-burn agriculture) is the proximate cause behind much deforestation and resulting loss of habitat (Kull 2004). Since both rapid response and mitigation are the keys to wildfire suppression, the purpose of this system is to channel real-time satellite observations of wildfires to the different government agencies, NGO's and community organizations responsible for natural areas management, fire suppression and sustainable economic development.
Bolivia and Peru
Bolivia and Peru are part of the Tropical Andes, the richest and most biologically diverse region on Earth. The Tropical Andes region contains about a sixth of all plant life in less than 1 percent of the world's land area. Although a quarter of its habitat still remains, the region is facing a variety of threats including mining, timber extraction, oil exploration, and narcotics plantations, which are all expanding due to the continual growth of many large cities in the region.
In Peru, slash and burn agriculture is a significant threat to many tropical forest areas of high biodiversity value, while in Bolivia, extensive forest fires are the result of expanding agriculture and cattle ranching, as well as natural pasture burning for grass renewal. During the dry season, stretching from June to November, the BOLFOR Project and Forest Superintendence estimate that more than 100,000 hectares are burned annually in Bolivia (International Forest Fire News, No. 28).
Indonesia
The spectacular flora and fauna of Indonesia are succumbing to the explosive growth of industrial forestry and to the international animal trade that claims tigers, monkeys, and turtle species for food and medicine in other countries. Populations of the orangutan, found only in this hotspot, are in dramatic decline. Some of the last refuges of two Southeast Asia rhino species are also found on the islands of Java and Sumatra.
Like many tropical areas, in Indonesia fire is the primary tool used to clear forests for commercial uses, including rubber, oil palm, and pulp production. During 1997-1998, a combination of extreme drought triggered by El Niño led to widespread, uncontrolled fire, the destruction nearly 10 million hectares of tropical forest and the exposure of 20 million people across Southeast Asia to harmful smoke-borne pollutants (Barber and Schweithelm 2000).
To strengthen enforcement of protected areas in the islands of Sumatra and Borneo, CI is disseminating near real-time fire alerts and illegal logging alerts to Indonesia government counterparts and NGO's who are working with park rangers on the integration of the satellite information into their patrols and park management plans.
Choose to Sign Up or Login to access this important resource.
For access to global fire resources, please visit: Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS), University of Maryland.
Kull, Christian A. Isle of Fire: The Political Ecology of Landscape Burning in Madagascar. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago, 2004.
Barber and Schweithelm. Trial By Fire: Forest Fires and Forestry Policy in Indonesia's Era of Crisis and Reform.World Resources Institute, 2000.
