On its fourth day, the COP28 session at the Portuguese Pavilion, promoted by the Agência para a Gestão Integrada de Fogos Rurais (AGIF) and co-organised with the United Nations FAO, served to disseminate best fire-governance practices, which allow for the reduction of emissions and ensure carbon sequestration. The involvement on behalf of Tiago Oliveira, President of AGIF, made it clear that suppression and technological measures have a limited application, highlighting the urgency of actively managing the territory through more forestry, controlled fire and silvopasture.
In Portugal, the success achieved in the last 6 years raises political and management challenges. Institutions and private individuals can be mobilised to carry out prevention-training actions on a large scale, which will have a positive impact on achieving climate goals.
The international reference framework for rural fire governance, presented by João Carlos Verde, is an instrument that serves new countries facing the challenge of rural fires, and invites all others to verify the need for change, and is based on principles and guidelines for risk management and involvement of all interested parties, communicating with citizens.
This was followed by the involvement of Amy Duchelle (FAO) who introduced the public to the Global Fire Management Hub, which follows the international reference framework presented by AGIF, aiming to contribute to a multifaceted approach to fire management. The session also included a presentation by Ane Alencar (IPAM) about MapBiomas, a network of institutions dedicated to collecting data on land coverage and use, an example of community involvement, as advocated in the international reference framework.
