Thank You: Why Our EFRA Wildfire Submission Matters

Thank you to everyone who took the time to read and comment on the first draft of the Moorland Association’s proposed written evidence to the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee inquiry into Wildfire risk and response.

This is the submission the MA is preparing on behalf of members in response to EFRA’s call for evidence on how the UK should prevent, monitor, manage and respond to the growing threat of wildfires.

Because this evidence is being submitted to a select committee, we cannot publish the final document ourselves until the Committee has released it. We will share the final version with members as soon as we can.

In the meantime, we wanted to thank members for their help and set out the main themes that have shaped the MA’s evidence.

Your comments have made the submission stronger, more practical and more rooted in the realities of managing moorland. That matters because this inquiry is not an abstract policy exercise. It is an opportunity to explain to Parliament that wildfire prevention depends on people who know the land, manage vegetation, maintain access, invest in equipment and work alongside Fire and Rescue Services when fires start.

The central message of the MA submission is simple: wildfire policy must move from suppressing fires after they start to reducing their severity before ignition. Climate change is increasing fire weather, but land management helps determine whether an ignition becomes a controllable surface fire or a landscape-scale emergency.

The main themes

Active fuel management

The MA’s evidence argues that Defra policy should support active fuel management, including grazing, cutting, mowing, bracken and scrub control, rewetting where feasible, and prescribed winter burning where appropriate.

The role of MA members

A central part of the submission is the practical contribution made by MA members. Members manage around one million acres of upland moorland in England and Wales, including much of England’s remaining heather moorland. They also maintain many of the tracks, water points, trained staff, vehicles and equipment on which rural wildfire prevention and response depends.

Regional wildfire planning

The submission calls for regional wildfire resilience planning, so that local risks are properly mapped and managed. Plans should consider fuel loads, vegetation continuity, peat soils, access, water supplies, visitor pressure, critical infrastructure, rural communities and the rural-urban interface.

Nature recovery and wildfire resilience

Nature recovery and wildfire resilience must work together. A varied mosaic of heather ages, wet flushes, grass, moss, grazed areas and managed firebreaks can support biodiversity while reducing the risk of a single high-intensity fire spreading across a whole moor.

Defra funding schemes

Stewardship and future schemes should support practical wildfire resilience, not passive fuel accumulation. That means helping to pay for fuel-load management, trained staff, maintained firebreaks, accessible water supplies, monitoring and joint planning with Fire and Rescue Services.

Better wildfire monitoring

It is not enough to record where a fire started or how many hectares burned. Government also needs to understand why fires spread, why some become severe, whether peat was involved, what fuel conditions existed, what access and water were available, and what the real costs were to people, land, livestock, biodiversity, carbon, water and infrastructure.

Rural capability

In remote uplands, gamekeepers, shepherds, farmers, estate staff, contractors and volunteers often have the local knowledge, equipment and access needed in the early stages of an incident. That capacity should be recognised, trained and coordinated safely with Fire and Rescue Services.

Public engagement

Almost all UK wildfires are caused by human action, whether accidental or deliberate. Clear public messaging is needed on barbecues, campfires, discarded cigarettes, fireworks, parking on dry grass and other high-risk behaviour during dry conditions.

Public safety

Above all, wildfire prevention needs to be treated as a public-safety issue. Decisions by public bodies should be tested against whether they reduce or increase fuel continuity, fire intensity, peat ignition risk, smoke exposure and danger to homes, farms, rural businesses and firefighters.

Cross-government coordination

Wildfire cuts across Defra, the Home Office, MHCLG, Natural England, the Forestry Commission, local authorities, Local Resilience Forums and Fire and Rescue Services. England needs clear responsibility, accountable leadership and a prevention-led approach.

Thank you again to everyone who contributed comments, examples and practical experience. We will share the final submission with members as soon as we are able to do so.