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Fire warning system in Madagascar
11 December 2007
Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world, and home to an incredible array of biodiversity. There are 22 endemic families of plant and animal life found only here, making it one of the richest Biodiversity Hotspots. Each year enormous areas of Madagascar are engulfed in flames, burning large portions of agricultural lands, grasslands and forests. Precise figures are difficult to obtain, however, the FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment 2005 estimates 33,000 ha of forest and 839,000 ha of other wooded land was disturbed by fire in 2000 (FAO, 2005).
The impact of fires can be devastating and dramatic for humans and wildlife. It can contribute to shifting land cover types and modifying nutrient cycles. Most critically on this island famed for its biodiversity, tavy fire (slash-and-burn agriculture) is the proximate cause behind much deforestation and resulting loss of habitat (Kull 2004). In order to document fire effects on ecosystems and assess the potential ecological impact, it is important to have access to real-time fire data.
Since both rapid response and mitigation are the keys to wildfire suppression, the purpose of this system is to channel real-time satellite observations of wildfires to the different government agencies, NGO's and community organizations responsible for natural areas management, fire suppression and sustainable economic development.
Extensive bushfires and wildfires in high-biodiversity tropical forests have become a major concern for many countries due to their growing ecological, economic and human health impacts. According to the UN, "unchecked land, bush and forest fires in various parts of the world are rapidly becoming a disaster of regional and global proportions," (UNDAC, 1998). Wildfires stem from many causes: agriculture burning, forest clearing by settlers, and wildlife poaching. Wildfires are often exacerbated by extended dry seasons or droughts, which may be related to the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO).
The Center for Applied Biodiversity Science (CABS) at Conservation International, International Resources Group (IRG), Madagascar's Ministere de L'Environnment des Eaux et Forets (MinEnvEF), and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) have teamed up with the MODIS Rapid Response System and Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS), University of Maryland to develop an e-mail based alert system warning of fires in or around protected areas and areas of high biological importance.
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Source: GSDI |
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