Brazil: Piracaia's Integrated Fire Management Plan

Across Brazil extreme dry seasons are leading to ever worse devastation from uncontrolled fires. Most begin as agricultural fires despite blanket prohibition of its use. This case study introduces Piracaia’s Integrated Fire Management Plan, Brazil’s second such municipal-level document, published in June 2025, which recognises fire as a natural tool and guides a transition from reactively fighting fire, to proactively engaging with it.

With extensive dialogue informing the design process, local residents and institutions are collaborating to implement its recommendations, and optimism is high that the community will see fewer uncontrolled fires, and is better prepared when it does.

Background

Increasing frequency of uncontrolled fires in the municipality of Piracaia, which borders one of São Paulo's most important reservoirs, and contains various conservation regions. Local farmers wishing to use fire were prohibited, so did so in an erratic, unsafe manner.

Link to map
38,473 ha (23% urban, 77% rural)
Hilly, several small rivers and streams that supply the reservoirs in the north, supplying the metropolitan area of São Paulo
Atlantic Forest biome, with a patchwork of cerrado (semi-arid), and exotic/invasive grass species used for pasture and eucalyptus plantations presenting increased fire risk
Dry season April-October, tending to becoming drier and longer
Population 27.462 (85% urban, 15% rural), increasing urbanisation with an influx of people moving from São Paulo

Historical, Legal, Social, Economic Context:

Fire was nationally prohibited until July 2024, when a law was passed to permit use in controlled, limited cases, to be determined locally by state and municipal governments.
Prohibition was mostly unenforceable, yet caused deep tensions between the local government and farmers who rely on traditional methods to manage their land.
Fire is a natural tool, necessary in agriculture, which with correct use can even benefit soil quality and biodiversity.
Prohibition encourages farmers to use fire in an erratic manner, avoiding prosecution by disguising responsibility with excessively large fires and/or performing burns when emergency responders are already overwhelmed with cases, rather than prioritizing safety and effectiveness.
2023-24 brought extreme dry seasons across Brazil, and record levels of forest fires
In Piracaia most uncontrolled fires begin as agricultural fires, though there are also suspected malicious cases, in conflicts between neighbours, and with the water company Sabesp, which owns land surrounding the reservoir.
Uncontrolled fires are increasingly threatening the reservoir, homes, conservation areas, and farmland.
Emergency services are unable to respond to every case, and locals are organising to protect their homes and land
In the neighbouring municipality of Atibaia in 2005, Simbiose formed to organize locals combating forest fires.

Characteristics of fires	Prohibited	Controlled
Area and duration	Often undefined or poorly defined	Clearly defined, if necessary by clearing sections to create firebreaks.
Time, date, climate conditions	Chosen to disguise responsibility and avoid visits from emergency services	Chosen for safety and effectiveness
Support and response time	None, slow	Official support and monitoring guarantees a quick response time if needed
Effect on soil	High temperatures damages soil, causing erosion and land degradation	Lower temperatures result in minimal damage to the soil ecosystem, and in certain situations the quality of burnt residue may contribute to enriching the soil.

Key takeaway: Fire is here to stay and prohibition is ineffective. Transition to a proactive relationship with fire

Photo by Emediong Etim

Actions taken

Main Action: An Integrated Fire Management Plan (IFMP) was developed by Simbiose on behalf of the Piracaia Municipal Government to redefine the local relationship with fire. Combining extensive local, national, and international research, it is a reference document which aims to guide the municipality on how to achieve and maintain this healthy relationship.

It is the second municipal level IFMP in Brazil, published on the 6th of June, 2025, soon to be debated and voted on adoption as official policy, implementation is already under way.

The objective is to shift from reactive to proactive land management practices that use fire, in order to:

Reduce the number and intensity of uncontrolled fires, to improve emergency response to uncontrolled fires, and as such, to develop social and ecological resilience to increasingly prolonged dry seasons,
Facilitate and actively assist farmers in their use of fire, making it more effective and safer, which is expected to have a positive impact on the local economy which is largely dependent on agriculture.
Enrich local ecology, not only as a side effect of protecting it from uncontrolled fire, but also actively stepping up conservation efforts as a method of fire protection.

The IFMP:

Presents the case for accepting fire as a natural, traditional tool, which has a place within sustainable land management.
Identifies key details about the geography, history, and economy of the municipality which affect its relationship with fire.
Identifies priority regions where fire hazards are particularly high (inc. land surrounding the reservoir)
Outlines relevant municipal, state, and federal legislation
Highlights the municipality’s role in several conservation areas
Introduces and describes key actors in the region, commenting on their rights and responsibilities where relevant.
Recommends specific, detailed long and short term actions:
- Specific revisions of municipal legislation to permit controlled burns within the nationally defined framework.
- Investment in local institutions, residents, and equipment to improve mapping and monitoring of fires, training on use of fire and combat techniques.
- Outlines an alert system for fire risks, covering identification, appropriate actions, actors responsible, for different situations and climate conditions.
- Emphasises the importance of ongoing preventative measures including ecological recovery to develop drought resilience.
- Proactive communication and involvement of local institutions and residents in determining how these actions are carried out, to guarantee participation and cohesion.
Defines measures to evaluate accomplishment of the points above.

Simbiose developed the IFMP in partnership with TNC, leveraging 20 years of experience directly combating and working with fire, educational activities, collaboration with residents, governments, businesses, other NGOs and civil society groups, and academics. The chosen objectives and decisions made within the document are guided by an understanding that this complex issue affects everybody, and so the solution must be designed and carried out by everybody. During the design process extensive consultations were held with different local actors, and now continue during implementation.

Besides Simbiose’s experience and consulting locals, the IFMP is informed by:

Research papers and literature on IFMPs around the world and developed by conservation units in Brazil.
Mapping tools
Consulting with colleagues in federal government responsible for legislation concerning IFMP implementation in Brazil

Outcomes

Nationally:

Piracaia’s IFMP is being used as a case study by the federal government in the Ministry for the Environment to develop a template for municipal IFMPs

Regionally:

Bragança Paulista, a neighbouring municipality, which also contains part of the Cachoeira Reservoir, has begun to develop a IFMP with support from Simbiose
The municipal governments of Piracaia, Joanópolis, and Bragança Paulista, are developing closer relationships

Within Piracaia:

Farmers and other fire users are now not only able to do so, but can access support to determine the scope of their controlled burns, and practical support in carrying out the burn.
Data collection on fires is significantly improved, intended to inform future decisions to fine-tune policy.
Training courses are being carried out for emergency services and locals, including on how to define and carry out a controlled burn, direct fire combat, and workshops on how to prepare fire combatting equipment.
Locals prepared to or experienced in combatting fire have formed a mutual support network, and are receiving institutional support
Automatic fire monitoring systems by camera have been installed, bringing multiple benefits:
- Instant reporting of smoke, therefore much improved response time to unexpected fires, which helps to detain malicious actors.
- Together with the clearly defined alert system, the police and fire brigades are more confident about how to respond appropriately
- Aware of the monitoring system, farmers have begun to contact the municipality asking for support in their use of fire
The secretariat of the environment, civil defense, municipal police, and the secretariat of agriculture have developed a much closer relationship, now in regular contact over fire related issues
The reservoir is better protected from fire as SABESP, the water company which owns land surrounding the reservoir, is now participating in monitoring and preventative measures and clearing firebreaks high risk areas
The IFMP is scheduled to be debated and voted on as official policy by the municipal government, and the first formal evaluation of the IFMP’s impact is scheduled for 27/11

It is too soon to evaluate against the main objective of reducing the number and intensity of uncontrolled fires, however early signs are promising.

Lack of historical quantitative data somewhat limits the ability to make comparisons and confidence in specific details such as priority areas. The authors attempted to compensate by collecting extensive anecdotal evidence and collating with available data. However, initial measures of success will be mostly qualitative, as described by local experience. Future improvement of the IFMP is foreseen as data collection efforts are currently prioritised.

Though the authors were careful to deliver a well thought out and effective IFMP, it could be argued that its relative success is inevitable, as any shift from a reactive to proactive attitude is an improvement.

The two key implementation issues are unsurprising, acquiring funds and engagement. TNC is providing significant funds, though municipalities following suit may benefit from the federal government's plans to introduce funding for IFMPs. Convincing decision makers to change a long held prohibitionist view of fire required extensive dialogue, but Simbiose’s team of well informed, dedicated, and diverse people was able to bring influential national experts and TNCs financial backing to demonstrate that introducing a IFMP would bring many benefits and no disadvantages to the region. Of course, the federal government’s interest in municipalities following through with their recommendations was instrumental, and ultimately the region benefitted from the perfect storm of support from a national to individual level.

Simbiose is keen to demonstrate that everybody benefits from a more holistic relationship with fire, and is enthusiastic to aid Brazil’s municipalities through this change as fire inevitably becomes a bigger part of the landscape.

Lessons Learned

Officially embracing fire as a natural tool and learning to work with it effectively really is a win-win situation for all, and is essential to prepare for the increasing dangers of uncontrolled fires presented by ever more extreme dry seasons. Besides contributing to society’s drought resilience, it brings economic benefits via improved agricultural output, and benefits local ecosystems.

Listening to the population’s and institutions’ needs to develop policy results in an effective legal framework, which benefits all. Albeit obvious, it is important to emphasise that the authors prioritised conversation and listening above all else in developing the IFMP, and although data and official facts contributed, information shared by people was the key to designing an effective IFMP.

Furthermore, including local actors in the design process leads to their participation in implementation. Individuals and local organisations are directly carrying out actions defined in the IFMP, and demanding the municipal government to follow through with their commitments.

A simple template and guide would massively facilitate the development of future IFMPs. This case study is being used by the Brazilian government to this end, and the authors believe this is the simplest, most effective action that will help other municipalities, as the most significant barrier is lack of expertise. As such, training and sharing of best practices are also key.

Sharing case studies of success has a knock on effect. This is made clear as other municipalities are reaching out to Simbiose and Piracaia for support to develop their own IFMPs. To reach this point, political inertia in the federal government was overcome by extensive lobbying from dedicated individuals who used successes in other countries as examples for what can be achieved in Brazil.

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