{"id":3936,"date":"2023-12-14T22:12:57","date_gmt":"2023-12-14T22:12:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fireadapt.eu\/?p=3936"},"modified":"2023-12-14T22:44:00","modified_gmt":"2023-12-14T22:44:00","slug":"the-activities-of-the-mexico-study-hub-come-to-an-end","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fireadapt.eu\/en\/the-activities-of-the-mexico-study-hub-come-to-an-end\/","title":{"rendered":"The activities of the Mexico Study Hub come to an end"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The three-week gathering at the Mexico Study Hub is over. The World Resources Institute and the Comisi\u00f3n Nacional Forestal have organised the work, knowledge-sharing, research, and training activities that have taken place in the state of Oaxaca. 13 colleagues from the Pau Costa Foundation, the Forest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia, the University of East Anglia, WARUCENE, the Sorbonne Universit\u00e9, and the botAnique et Mod\u00e9lisation de l’Architecture des Plantes et des v\u00e9g\u00e9tations laboratory have participated in the event through secondments, enabled by the Marie Sk\u0142odowska-Curie Staff Exchange Actions. The detailed programme of activities can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The FIRE-ADAPT staff who participated in the activities of the Mexico Study Hub. Image: PCF.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The occasion has given a boost to the specialised areas (work packages) of FIRE-ADAPT and the research on global perspectives on integrated fire management and the effects of fire on carbon dynamics and the adaptations of various types of plants. In addition, participants have learned about fire management, both at the national level in Mexico, and at the state and local level in Oaxaca and Sierra Ju\u00e1rez communities, respectively, which is promoting a paradigm shift from total suppression to a beneficial use of fire since 2019, thanks to the Fire Management Programme<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Mexico is migrating from a suppression perspective to fire management. Our job, that of the technicians, is to continue working hard to make it a reality and help other technicians understand what fire management is. We also have the challenge of being listened to by decision-makers, political actors, and of teaching society that the approach has to be management and not suppression. The point is to see fire as an ally, that it has been an integral part of ecosystems and society, and that it is a reality in the issue of climate change, but that we have to learn to live with it under that reality because, otherwise, the only thing we are going to cause is the degradation of ecosystems due to their complete exclusion,”\u00a0 explains C\u00e9sar Robles, Deputy Manager of Planning and Information on Fire Management at the Comisi\u00f3n Nacional Forestal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Logo of the Mexican Fire Management Programme, promoted by the Secretar\u00eda de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, and the Comisi\u00f3n Nacional Forestal. Image: CONAFOR.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The first week of the meeting took place between Oaxaca de Ju\u00e1rez and the Sierra Ju\u00e1rez. It consisted of work package-centred sessions, a visit to a community, and an open day. Among other things, these activities provided a first-hand understanding of the community-based land governance system. Independently of the national government, communities manage their forests and exploit forest resources in an economically and environmentally sustainable manner. As for forest management skills, comuneros <\/em>(community members) do not develop them through a specific training programme, but through the experience they acquire over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It has been very interesting for FIRE-ADAPT to find that, in countries like Mexico, the management of forests and their resources by local communities is not far from what should be done to reduce the risk of wildfires.\u00a0 The presence of communities in forest regions, the productive and daily use of forests and their resources, and the knowledge that is generated and maintained locally has allowed us to not have great risks and to create a fundamental base,” states Iv\u00e1n Z\u00fa\u00f1iga, Forest Landscapes Manager and responsible for the SAbERES project in the Mexico office of the World Resources Institute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 23 November, participants visited the community of Santiago Xiacui, to which the Uni\u00f3n de Comunidades Productoras Forestales Zapotecos-Chinantecos de la Sierra Ju\u00e1rez (UZACHI) gives technical advice. Representatives of the community and UZACHI showcased various community-based initiatives, such as a nursery for two species of pine (Pinus patula and P. ayacahuite<\/em>) and a timber harvesting point. They also explained the evolution of a 2019 fire and the role of the local brigade in extinguishing it. Interestingly, this fire wiped out an infestation of a defoliating insect that afflicted the area, showing the benefits of fire if used correctly. Finally, they explained their local biodiversity conservation actions, such as the relocation of epiphytic plants to new trees and the monitoring of fauna through phototrapping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From left to right, in the forest managed by the community of Santiago Xiacui: pine nursery, timber harvesting point, and visit to the 2019 fire. Image: PCF.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The first week of the gathering ended with the open day, which was held at the Universidad de la Sierra Ju\u00e1rez (UNSIJ) and was attended by 76 people from Mexico and Europe. Researchers, practitioners, technicians, and regional and local authorities presented different aspects of fire ecology and management, and forest management in Mexico, Spain, and France. In addition to supporting this event, UNSIJ has facilitated for FIRE-ADAPT researchers to collect data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The people who attended the open day on 24 November at the Universidad de la Sierra Ju\u00e1rez. Image: PCF.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Over the next two weeks, the first Prescribed Fire TRaining EXchange (TREX) in Mexico took place. The Comisi\u00f3n Nacional Forestal organised it, and 70 professionals from the United States, Costa Rica, Mexico, Peru, Chile, England, France, and Spain participated in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This event trained its participants in the execution of prescribed burns, which seek to enhance the ecological role of fire in ecosystems. The technical training included the application of ignition, holding, and mop-up techniques, and the assessment of the effect of fuel type, meteorology, and topography on fire behaviour and the decision-making needed for carrying out the burns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From left to right, the work of the containment, holding, and mop-up teams in the execution of the TREX prescribed burns. Image: PCF.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

These were carried out mainly in a pine-oak forest, at approximately 2500 m altitude and with slopes between 10 and 50%, in the community of Ixtl\u00e1n de Ju\u00e1rez. This community carries out exemplary sustainable forest management<\/a> aimed, among other purposes, at the production of furniture, and intends to promote the use of fire to protect and dynamise its forests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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One of the TREX burn units, before carrying out the prescribed burns, where the fuel accumulated on the soil can be seen. Image: PCF.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From an ecological point of view, this TREX sought to diminish the amount of fuel to reduce the risk of large wildfires, and to promote the natural regeneration of several tree species through the technique of scarification, that is, the elimination of leaf litter to create conditions that favour the germination of the seeds accumulated in the soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Having been able to learn how fuels behave under a range of conditions, from high humidity to complete availability, and moving between different conditions and ecosystems has been very rewarding and quite enriching for everyone,” says C\u00e9sar Robles.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, TREX has set up sampling units where researchers from the Forest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia and the Universidad de Durango, with the support of UNSIJ, have collected data on atmospheric variables, the calorific value of flames, and the effects of prescribed fire on the organic matter accumulated in the soil. These units have burned under different weather conditions, applying different ignition techniques, and with fire of different intensities, opening up multiple possibilities for the study of the effect of prescribed fire on ecosystems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“In this TREX, we took data and are planning to process them and invite the University to see the burn units and know that there is an experimental design from which information can be obtained. FIRE-ADAPT has three years left in which conclusions can be drawn from these burns. Seeking to generate knowledge is the most important thing,” says C\u00e9sar Robles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The TREX research team, collecting values of various variables under study. Image: PCF.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

During the TREX, several rainy days were used to carry out indoor sessions to reflect on the burns done; workshops on diversity, inclusion, and equity, and the use of mop-up tools; and research on how integrated fire management is implemented in the participants’ countries, by the University of East Anglia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Various moments of the TREX indoor sessions.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This gathering has allowed FIRE-ADAPT staff from different countries to meet at the Mexico Study Hub to work side by side, obtain data for their research, learn on-site about ecosystems in Mexico, and discuss various aspects of fire management with professionals from a multitude of organisations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I would expect two things from all this. In the first place, that researchers and research centres in Mexico create links. Secondly, that what has been known in Oaxaca feeds the research being carried out by FIRE-ADAPT researchers, providing them with new visions and experiences, and new data that allow them to enrich their work protocols, results, and recommendations,” says Iv\u00e1n Z\u00fa\u00f1iga.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These weeks have been above all an opportunity for people from different cultures and professional profiles who share a common interest, fire, to exchange knowledge and experiences that they can apply to continue with the work of disseminating its ecological role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The fact that people who didn’t know each other have been able to work together and share is something that, beyond technical learning, leaves a lifelong learning,” says C\u00e9sar Robles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The TREX participants at the training venue Ecoturixtl\u00e1n, in Ixtl\u00e1n de Ju\u00e1rez. Image: CONAFOR.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
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Now, the Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renov\u00e1veis and the Instituto Chico Mendes de Conserva\u00e7\u00e3o da Biodiversidade are taking over to prepare the next FIRE-ADAPT gathering, which will take place at the Brazil Study Hub<\/a>, in June 2024.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The three-week gathering at the Mexico Study Hub is over. The World Resources Institute and the Comisi\u00f3n Nacional Forestal have organised the work, knowledge-sharing, research, and training activities that have taken place in the state of Oaxaca. 13 colleagues from the Pau Costa Foundation, the Forest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia, the University of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3897,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sin-categorizar"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fireadapt.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fireadapt.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fireadapt.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fireadapt.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fireadapt.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3936"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.fireadapt.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3936\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3946,"href":"https:\/\/www.fireadapt.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3936\/revisions\/3946"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fireadapt.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fireadapt.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fireadapt.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fireadapt.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}