Indigenous use of fire in the paramo ecosystem of southern Ecuador: a case study using remote sensing methods and ancestral knowledge of the Kichwa Saraguro people

Abstract

Background The Indigenous Kichwa Saraguro people of southern Ecuador have long relied on traditional burning to manage their environment. However, their traditional use of fire in one of the most important ecosystems in southern Ecuador, the herbaceous paramo, is not well known. This lack of knowledge does not allow for the improvement of local regulations related to integrated fire management, which is a shortcoming compared to other regulations applied in South America. In this context, and to understand the impacts of the Indigenous use of fire, a climatic analysis of the area was carried out, generating a historical climograph (period: years 1981–2021) and four annual climographs that were contrasted with a remote sensing study of fire severity over 4 years (years 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021). In addition, traditional fire use was determined through the application of semi-structured interview questionnaires applied to 61 women and 89 men, whose data were analyzed with the level of information fidelity (LIF), informant consensus factor (ICF), and principal component analysis (PCA). Therefore, in this study, we argue that it is important to incorporate the concepts of (i) wildfire severity and (ii) cultural burning in wildfire policies and regulations in southern Ecuador. Results The results indicate that low-severity fires occur within the Saraguro territory and that fire use knowledge is transmitted to new generations incorporating both how and where to perform traditional burning. They also know when to burn using the burning calendar that is generally applied during the climatic phenomenon known as “Veranillo del Niño” (VdN). Conclusions These results can help decision-makers design policies, regulations, and proposals for the correct use of fire as a tool for the management of ecosystems in southern Ecuador affected by wildfires. In addition, the results can be used to improve the National Strategy for Integrated Fire Management 2021–2025 promoted by the Ministry of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition of Ecuador.

Decolonising Fire Science by Reexamining Fire Management across Contested Landscapes: A Workshop Approach

“…Both pathways share a set of key requirements. This includes understanding local, national, and international legal frameworks and multi-lateral directives, prioritising multi-level stakeholder engagement and legitimate local involvement throughout the entire policy process, and building networks of local lawyers operating across different jurisdictions and fields of law [37,38,130].…”

Exploring the ethnobiological practices of fire in three natural regions of Ecuador, through the integration of traditional knowledge and scientific approaches

“…However, many of these studies overlook the assessment of burn severity levels that local fire management can produce, resulting in insufficient attention to the effects of fire on natural resources [ 29 ]. In this context, Ecuador faces a scarcity of information on the severity of wildfires due to ancestral fire management, with only one available study involving the Saraguro indigenous community [ 30 ]. This lack of information hinders the confirmation of the impacts of such fires, both positive and negative.…”

“…Both mestizos and native Amerindians utilize traditional fire management in their agricultural and forest management activities, as demonstrated by recent research [ 29 , 33 ]. For example, Díaz et al [ 30 ] highlighted the cultural significance and ecological effects of the human use of fire by the Saraguro indigenous people in the páramo ecosystem of southern Ecuador. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to undertake research programs in Ecuador aimed at integrated fire management, considering aspects such as traditional fire use, severity levels, burning frequency, and their effects on nature and human well-being.…”

“…Carrión-Paladines et al [ 39 ] correlated remote sensing with soil properties in high-Andean shrublands. Yangua-Solano et al [ 40 ] have explored the impact of low severity on pioneer species, while Díaz et al [ 30 ] have linked remote sensing to the use of fire by the Saraguro indigenous community. Despite these advancements, Ecuador lacks additional studies that comprehensively address the use of this methodology alongside the effects of wildfires.…”

“…Despite these advancements, Ecuador lacks additional studies that comprehensively address the use of this methodology alongside the effects of wildfires. Additionally, it faces a knowledge gap regarding wildfires and their effects, due to the diversity of ecosystems with unknown susceptibility or adaptation to fire [ 30 , 41 ]. The limited presence of meteorological stations hinders research in this area [ 42 ], posing a significant challenge [ 43 ].…”