Controlled burns and milder weather: How Brazil curbed Amazon fires
Brazil has brought Amazon fires down to their lowest level in more than two decades, combining prevention strategies with the benefit of milder weather conditions.
After record destruction in 2024, the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio) – the body responsible for protected natural areas – adopted an unusual approach for an environmental agency: cooperating with farmers who use fire to fertilise their land.
During the dry season, firefighters call nearby rural producers, visit farms, and even provide drip torches with the correct fuel mix to support controlled burns. “It’s worse to fight a wildfire in the forest… and I prefer less work,” joked Manoel Delvo, head of fire combat for ICMBio in Pará state.
Trust with local communities has taken time to build. Farmers who once viewed oversight as burdensome are now more willing to request support for safe burns, often used ahead of planting rice and cassava.
The shift follows a disastrous 2024, when extreme heat and drought saw more than 156,000 square kilometres of the Amazon burn – the largest area recorded since monitoring began in 1985. Authorities concluded that almost all the blazes were human-driven, linked to negligence or deliberate deforestation.
This year, however, fire hotspots have dropped by 81% compared to 2024, from 102,000 to just over 19,000 – the lowest figure since 1998. Researcher Ane Alencar credits increased rainfall as the main factor, but also notes intensified government inspections, expanded firefighting resources, and farmers’ fear of repeating last year’s devastation.
The federal government has purchased new aircraft, toughened penalties for arson, and increased the number of environmental firefighters by 26% to 4,385. Despite the progress, the scale of the Amazon means resources remain stretched.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
