A global expert elicitation on present-day human-fire interactions.

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Environmental Science
• Social Science

Background:

• Human fire use significantly shapes global fire regimes but remains poorly understood at a large scale.
• Existing knowledge syntheses on fire use have limited global coverage.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present the Global Fire Use Survey (GFUS), a systematic effort to gather expert knowledge on human fire use worldwide.
• To analyze the distribution of fire use practices and the effectiveness of policy interventions globally.

Main Methods:

• Conducted the Global Fire Use Survey (GFUS) with academics and practitioners.
• Collected data on fire users, burning reasons, seasonality, trends, and policy interventions.
• Analyzed 311 responses covering over 50% of Earth's ice-free land.

Main Results:

• Indigenous and local communities are the most widespread fire users, driven by livelihood and cultural objectives.
• Commercial, state, and NGO burning are less prevalent.
• Regulatory restrictions are common but often ineffective, especially in high burned area regions.
• Community-led governance, though rarer, proved more effective than restrictive policies, particularly in high burned area regions.

Conclusions:

• Human fire use is diverse, with distinct user groups and motivations.
• Current regulatory policies for fire use are frequently ineffective.
• Community-led governance models show greater promise for managing fire use effectively, especially in ecologically sensitive areas.