Wildland Fires Initiative highlights Arctic Indigenous Fire Management at COP29

Session by Norwegian Chairship of the Arctic Council and Arctic Indigenous Peoples' Organizations to emphasize Indigenous fire management's role in climate mitigation and adaptation at UNFCCC climate conference

As part of its Wildland Fires Initiative, the Norwegian Chairship of the Arctic Council in cooperation with the Indigenous Peoples' Organizations that have Permanent Participant status in the Council are organizing a side event titled " Living with Fire: The Role of Indigenous Fire Management in Climate Mitigation and Adaptation" at the upcoming UNFCCC COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. The session will demonstrate how reviving fire practices of Indigenous Peoples can inform contemporary wildland fire governance, benefiting the climate, environment, and communities globally. It will take place at the Indigenous Peoples Pavilion, which is hosted by the International Indigenous Peoples' Forum on Climate Change, on 13 November 13:25 - 14:25. Co-organizers include Gwich'in Council International, the Inuit Circumpolar Council, and the Saami Council.

Indigenous Peoples in fire-prone areas worldwide have historically used cultural burning practices to adapt to, and manage, the environmental conditions of their homelands.

However, through colonization, fire suppression policies have disrupted this transfer of the Knowledge of Indigenous Peoples and traditional fire management practices, leading to an increased vulnerability of Indigenous territories to large, high-intensity wildfires. Today, the Indigenous Peoples from the Arctic, as well as other areas of the world, are disproportionately affected by the devastating impacts of wildfires, being more likely to be evacuated from their homelands and suffer from air pollution as the wildland fires are making their way further North.

Raising Arctic fires on the COP29 agenda

The session "Living with Fire: The Role of Indigenous Fire Management in Climate Mitigation and Adaptation" at COP29 aims at highlighting the impacts of climate change on Arctic Indigenous territories and will emphasize the critical role of Indigenous Peoples in addressing environmental challenges such as wildfires by highlighting the role of the Arctic Indigenous fire management.

The session is opened by a keynote on Arctic wildland fires in relation to climate change and the role of Indigenous fire management in climate mitigation and adaptation. The keynote will also include an introduction to the Wildland Fires Initiative by the Norwegian Chairship of the Arctic Council. This is followed by a panel with representatives from the Saami Council, Gwich'in Council International, Inuit Circumpolar Council and the Norwegian Chairship of the Arctic Council. The panel discussion will explore Indigenous fire stewardship practices and seek practical solutions that integrate the Knowledge systems of Indigenous Peoples with modern fire management strategies. The discussion will also look at how Indigenous Peoples who are not historically familiar with fire management are planning for a future with increased risks, such as evacuation threats and smoke alerts.