Learning from forest fires: Analysing unequal impacts, well-being and local knowledge and action

Large forest fires are an increasing threat for rural communities around the world.

While States increase their investments in fire extinction, everyday experiences and efforts of rural communities coping with fires still need further attention.

Drawing on the fields of environmental health and feminist political ecology, and combining quantitative and qualitative methodologies, this project will analyse how forest fires unequally shape the well-being of local communities in three cases: semi-natural productive forests in Sweden, exotic tree plantations in Spain and rainforests in Chile.

The implications of fires for the psychosocial wellbeing will be analysed as part of social inequalities among rural communities (mediated by gender, class, ethnicity, etc.) and between a comprehensive diversity of forest, social and political governances.

Local knowledge and action generated during and after the fires will be also mapped through participatory research methods.Analysing how psychosocial impacts are socially distributed, which local knowledge is recognised, and how local participation takes place during and after forest fires will enable an environmental justice perspective of forest fires.

The framework, methods and results of this project seek to inspire researchers and policymakers responsible for forest fire prevention plans in Sweden, Europe and Latin America, towards learning from forest fires: to reduce their socio-environmental impacts and prevent future ones.