Traditional knowledge of fire use by islanders in the Paraná Delta, Argentina

MILLÁN, ADRIANA; FERRERO, BRIÁN; BILBAO, BIBIANA ALEJANDRA

Tropical Forest Issues

Tropenbos International, Ede, the Netherlands

Año: 2022 p. 60 - 65

The Paraná river delta is the culmination of the second largest river basin in South America, and together with the Amazon and the Orinoco, provides more than 30% of the planet´s renewable freshwater. This subtropical area is distinguished by its biogeographic and ecological uniqueness, with a high species diversity in the complex mosaic of wetlands. Islands are the home for communities involved in small scale fishing and hunting, raising cattle and other livestock for own consumption and sale, and beekeeping (Ferrero and Arach 2020). Livestock farming has been important to the economy since colonial times based on grazing highly productive natural pastures (Massa 2012).For several decades this area has suffered from major wildfires. In 2020, coinciding with an extraordinary drought and a historic low level of the Paraná River, intense wildfires affected 487,000 ha (MAyDS 2021). The response to the crisis was considered insufficient by civil society, who through massive public demonstrations, demanding that the government control the wildfires, and pass laws to protect the wetlands and regulate productive and real estate activities on the islands. This problem received extensive coverage in national and international media, which devoted headlines to discourses that emphasised the negative aspects of fire, such as the loss of biodiversity and risks to human health.The government response was to reinforce fire suppression and control policies and tightening regulations that criminalized the use of fire. This, however, negatively affected local communities and small livestock producers who depend on the use of fire for their subsistence activities. This article systematizes for the first time the traditional use of fire in the delta, and efforts to stimulate dialogue between local communities, environmental organization and government agencies to share their perspectives and come to a common agreement as to ways forward. Results indicate a complex knowledge of the role of fire in the maintenance of the different grassland ecosystems by islanders, but that dialogue can lead to effective and workable solutions.