Reintroducing Controlled Burning in Brazil’s Cerrado: Vital Lessons for Governments Everywhere

The Brazilian savannah-woodland region known as the Cerrado is one of the world’s richest tropical savannah ecosystems, covering roughly one-third of Brazil.

It is rich in biodiversity, supports rural livelihoods and agricultural production, and plays a globally important role in carbon storage and ecosystem health (studies suggest the Cerrado may hold about 118 tons of carbon per acre).

Historically, local land-managers and traditional communities used carefully timed, low-intensity fires (controlled burning) to manage vegetation, reduce fuel build-up, and maintain the open mosaic landscape.

In recent decades, national policy changed. The Brazilian government introduced a blanket ban on controlled burning in the Cerrado. The ban was intended to reduce fire risks, avoid deforestation and protect sensitive habitats.

Why the ban was introduced

According to a recent feature on BBC’s Global Eye (starts at 4mins 37secs) the ban was introduced because authorities believed that all fire in the Cerrado was harmful. The government assumed that by disallowing all burning, the risk of wildfire could be reduced.

In effect, they treated fire as an enemy, rather than as a tool when used correctly.

The unintended consequences

The ban had several unintended effects:

• With no authorised burning, fuel loads (dead grasses, shrubs, built-up vegetation) increased substantially across many landscapes.

• The result was that when fires did ignite, whether from lightning, accidental ignition or agricultural escape, they burned hotter, faster and with more severity.

• One land-manager interviewed said: “We used to light small fires when needed. Now when a fire comes it runs like a train.”

• Wildfire area burned has grown markedly since the ban: “the area burned annually has doubled in the past decade.”

• Communities suffered greater loss of property, livelihoods and ecosystem damage as a result of these more extreme fires.

Thus, the ban achieved the opposite of its intention: reduction of fire didn’t lead to safety; instead, uncontrolled fire became more destructive.

Reintroducing controlled burning

Faced with escalating wildfire risk, Brazilian authorities, scientists and local communities are now re-introducing controlled burning as a prevention tool:

• Fire brigades and local land-managers are carrying out planned practice burns under supervision: low wind, defined boundaries, small-scale ignition.

• In one case study a rancher said: “We used to burn three times a year in late dry-season. We stopped. But now we’ll start again with safe burns.”

• Scientists monitoring fuel loads show that areas treated with controlled burning had significantly less combustible material: “In plots burned this way the fire front travels slowly, consumes less vegetation and leaves a patchy habitat rather than a uniform burn.”

• Before-and-after imagery shows untreated land with high fuel build-up, and a nearby plot treated with controlled fire having lower shrub-density and reduced surface fuel.

• A conservation biologist explained: “Controlled burns mimic historical patterns of fire and help protect habitat by reducing the risk of megafire.”

• Importantly, the re-introduced burning is aligned with habitat conservation: it helps maintain species adapted to periodic fire, preserves open savannah grassland, and supports rural livelihoods (grazing, ranching) by reducing wildfire impact.

Key evidence from the feature

• During her introduction, the presenter states: "Wildfire intensity in the region has dropped by 97%. The method has proved so effective that government agencies are now supporting the expansion to other savannah regions."

• One land-manager notes: “When we burnt in small patches we never had a fire go out of control.”

• Monitoring data: plots with controlled burning had up to 60-70% less fuel load compared with untreated plots.

• An official: “Since we resumed planned burning the number of high-severity wildfires has fallen by around one third in monitored districts.”

• Community benefit: a village leader said: “Since we changed our approach we haven’t seen a fire run through our grazing land like before.”

• An ecologist: “Controlled fire protects habitat by creating a mosaic of burned and unburned areas; this mosaic slows fire spread and preserves biodiversity.”

Practical lessons for land management

• Total prohibition of all fire use can lead to fuel accumulation and greater risk of catastrophic wildfire.

• Reintroducing fire under controlled, planned conditions can restore a more resilient landscape.

• Combining traditional local knowledge, scientific monitoring and institutional support is key.

• Controlled burning must be timed, sized and managed to mimic historical fire regimes and avoid running out of control.

• It is not simply “burning for burning’s sake” but burning with purpose: fuel reduction, habitat protection, rural livelihoods.

Closing thought

The Cerrado’s experience shows that thoughtful, practical use of fire - aligned with tradition, conservation and rural land use - can reduce the risk of megafire and support resilient landscapes.

The Cerrado story matters for moorland management, because when fuel builds up and fire is suppressed entirely we risk intense wildfires, using carefully planned burns can help preserve habitat, protect rural livelihoods and safeguard our uplands.

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