Participatory Mapping Reveals Socioeconomic Drivers of Forest Fires in Protected Areas of the Post-conflict Colombian Amazon


Publisher: People and Nature

Author(s): Charlie A. Tebbutt, Tahia Devisscher, Laura Obando-Cabrera, Gustavo A. G. García, Maria C. M. Elizalde, Dolors Armenteras, and Imma O. Menor

Date: 2021

Topics: Governance, Land, Livelihoods

Countries: Colombia

View Original

Wildfires have increased in protected areas (PAs) of the Colombian Amazon following the 2016 peace agreement between the Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forced of Colombia. This study uses a social–ecological systems framework to investigate local perceptions of factors driving and/or preventing wildfires in the Los Picachos, La Macarena and Tinigua PAs, which are shared by two Amazonian departments experiencing wildfire increase. Four stakeholder categories were selected to represent varied and possibly conflicting interests: cattle ranchers, the national park service, local authorities and cross-sectional stakeholders. The authors combined a participative mapping approach with interviews to illustrate stakeholder perceptions of interactions between key variables in graphical causal models. Network analyses were used to determine areas of agreement on key variables, and to compare local priorities with those of key informants at the national level. This study revealed contested opinions between ranchers and other stakeholders over interactions between ranching, roads and illicit crops, and consequently their effects on wildfire occurrence. This indicates the need for cautious implementation of the National Development Plan, prioritising road maintenance over expansion, integrating arable alternatives to cattle ranching and considering multiple stakeholders in regional decision-making around wildfire reduction. The strengths and limitations of the participative mapping approach employed here are discussed with a view to aiding decision-making in post-conflict regions of the Global South.