The Dangerous Myth of 'Passive' Prevention: Why True Nature-Based Solutions Require Active Stewardship

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee have asked a vital question in their recent Call for Evidence on Wildfire Risk: "What role do nature-based solutions, such as improving biodiversity and more resilient landscapes, have in the prevention and control of wildfires?"

There is a dangerous misunderstanding taking root in UK environmental policy. When we talk about "nature-based solutions" (NBS) to combat the growing threat of wildfires, too many policymakers equate this with passive "rewilding" or the total abandonment of the landscape.

Let us be absolutely clear: simply walking away from our moorlands is not a solution. It is a recipe for disaster.

In the UK uplands, genuine nature-based solutions require active land stewardship. To create truly resilient landscapes that can withstand hotter, drier summers, we must actively manage the vegetation that fuels catastrophic fires.

We cannot fight wildfires passively; we must use traditional, proven tools - such as controlled winter burning, targeted grazing, and vegetation cutting - to protect our people, our wildlife, and our precious carbon stores.

Without fuel there are no fires. With massive increases in vegetation, you get what we have - the worst wildfires in our history. It is as if a petrol station had been built on every hill.

The inverted pyramid of crisis management tells us that prevention is always better, and cheaper, than the cure. Yet, current policies that restrict traditional land management have allowed massive corridors of overgrown vegetation - "Fire Highways" - to dominate our uplands.

When peer-reviewed data shows that removing management causes fine and coarse vegetation fuels to increase four to six-fold within 15 to 20 years, the results are inevitable.

The removal of active management represents a direct shift from small fires that can be safely controlled to megafires that cannot be suppressed.

The Limits of Rewetting: Why Water Isn't a Silver Bullet

A common refrain from critics of active management is that we simply need to "rewet" the peatlands to stop them burning. Rewetting degraded bogs to encourage the growth of native Sphagnum moss is undeniably crucial for long-term health. But as a standalone wildfire mitigation strategy, it is fundamentally flawed.

We need only look at the recent blaze at the Danes Moss Nature Reserve for a stark reality check. Danes Moss is the largest lowland raised bog in Cheshire. It is a fundamentally wet environment.

Yet, a wildfire still swept through 2,500 square metres of the reserve. Why? Because even if the ground is wet, the unmanaged surface vegetation - the fuel - can become completely dry and highly combustible during a hot spell.

If the fire brigade had not acted quickly, that surface fire would have baked the moisture out of the top layer of peat and ignited the carbon-rich soil beneath.

Danes Moss is a wake-up call: rewetting alone cannot prevent wildfires.

The Solution: Hybrid Restoration

Instead of viewing burning and rewetting as opposing forces, science points us toward "Hybrid Restoration" - often referred to as the "burn-to-rewet" approach.

• First, we use a single, carefully controlled cool burn to strip away the overgrown, flammable "fast food" vegetation.

• Second, we block the drains to immediately raise the water table.

• Third, we allow the peat-forming mosses to recover safely.

Recent studies published in Nature’s climate journal show that this proactive approach is a game-changer. By removing the surface fuel before rewetting, this method cuts harmful methane emissions by 95% over just 90 days compared to rewetting alone.

The Tools of Active Stewardship

If we are to embrace true nature-based solutions, we must equip our land managers with the right tools to create a mosaic of resilient habitats.

• Controlled Winter Burning: Conducted safely during the wet winter months, cool burning removes the tips of older, woody heather without damaging the underlying peat. This creates vital firebreaks that stop summer megafires in their tracks.

• Targeted Grazing: We must recognize sheep as the ultimate nature-based firefighters. Scientific reviews confirm that "adaptive" grazing naturally reduces the build-up of combustible dry grass and shrubs, significantly reducing wildfire spread and intensity.

• Vegetation Cutting: Where terrain allows, mechanical cutting helps reduce the heather canopy, further breaking up continuous fuel loads.

Firefighting must always be our last resort. When it comes to protecting our landscapes, carbon stores, and communities, active land management is the only sustainable solution.

The Human Element: Our Frontline Defenders

Finally, no nature-based solution can succeed without the people who understand the nature of the land.

We often talk about conservation in terms of birds, heather, and carbon storage, but we must also talk about the rural communities who act as our first line of defence.

During the massive Langdale Moor wildfire - which burned across nearly 6,000 acres - it was the seamless partnership between the Fire and Rescue Services and the local rural community that prevented a total catastrophe.

Gamekeepers, farmers, and the locally mobilized "Farmy Army" were unsung heroes. Utilizing their deep local knowledge, all-terrain vehicles, and mobile water fogging units, they provided vital, no-cost firefighting support. They steered the fire away from critical infrastructure, ensuring no property was burned and nobody was hurt.

A Call for Common Sense

The EFRA Committee has a unique opportunity to reset the narrative on wildfire prevention in the UK.

Nature-based solutions are essential, but they only work when guided by human hands.

If we continue to sideline traditional land managers, ban proven fuel-reduction techniques, and rely on passive rewilding, the catastrophic wildfires of 2025 will become our new normal.

It is time to listen to the science, respect generations of rural expertise, and bring active stewardship back to the heart of our environmental policy.

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