Integrated fire management within ASEAN: Approaches to include community-based fire management and address climate change

Community-based Fire Management (CBFiM) emphasizes a participatory approach that highlights community voices, and the need for local engagement at the design stages of fire management. Overall, the baseline findings indicate a deficiency in adopting a holistic approach to fire management in project pilot sites in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam. Administrative structures, budget constraints, resource deficiencies and a predominant focus on fire suppression contribute to this gap. Consequently, certain vital components are absent from CBFiM strategies, particularly evident in aspects like the recovery component of the integrated fire management 5R framework and the incorporation of tools and technologies in both general and CBFiM initiatives. As continued capacity development interventions are applied, cascading training and knowledge exchange events help communities build resiliency to climatic events like wildfires.