Viability and desirability of financing conservation in Africa through fire management

Tony Knowles; Nicola Stevens; Esther Ekua Amoako; Mohammed Armani; Chipilica Barbosa; Colin Beale; William Bond; Emmanuel Chidumayo; Colin Courtney-Mustaphi; Kebonye Dintwe; Andy Dobson; Jason Donaldson; Luthando Dziba; Navashni Govender; Gareth Hempson; Glynis Joy Humphrey; Duncan Kimuyu; Paul Laris; Aya Brigitte N’Dri; Catherine L. Parr; James Probert; Gernot Ruecker; Izak Smit; Tercia Strydom; Stephen Syampungani; Sally Archibald

doi:10.1038/s41893-024-01490-9

Viability and desirability of financing conservation in Africa through fire management

Tony Knowles^*, Nicola Stevens^*, Esther Ekua Amoako, Mohammed Armani, Chipilica Barbosa, Colin Beale, William Bond, Emmanuel Chidumayo, Colin Courtney-Mustaphi, Kebonye Dintwe, Andy Dobson, Jason Donaldson, Luthando Dziba, Navashni Govender, Gareth Hempson, Glynis Joy Humphrey, Duncan Kimuyu, Paul Laris, Aya Brigitte N’Dri, Catherine L. ParrJames Probert, Gernot Ruecker, Izak Smit, Tercia Strydom, Stephen Syampungani, Sally Archibald

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Adopting early dry season fires in African conservation areas has been proposed as ecologically desired and a means of generating sufficient carbon revenues for their management. We interrogate available peer-reviewed information on the ecology and biogeochemistry of fire in Africa to offer an informed perspective on the full implications of the proposal. We conclude that there is insufficient evidence that a shift to early dry season fires will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, that resultant biodiversity and ecosystem service outcomes may not be desired, and that adopting a single burning regime limits the use of fire to achieve a diverse range of goals.

Original language	English
Article number	112568
Number of pages	8
Journal	Nature Sustainability
Volume	8
Issue number	3
Early online date	6 Jan 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-024-01490-9
Publication status	Published - Mar 2025

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© Springer Nature Limited 2025.

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Knowles, T., Stevens, N., Amoako, E. E., Armani, M., Barbosa, C., Beale, C., Bond, W., Chidumayo, E., Courtney-Mustaphi, C., Dintwe, K., Dobson, A., Donaldson, J., Dziba, L., Govender, N., Hempson, G., Humphrey, G. J., Kimuyu, D., Laris, P., N’Dri, A. B., ... Archibald, S. (2025). Viability and desirability of financing conservation in Africa through fire management. Nature Sustainability, 8(3), Article 112568. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-024-01490-9

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abstract = "Adopting early dry season fires in African conservation areas has been proposed as ecologically desired and a means of generating sufficient carbon revenues for their management. We interrogate available peer-reviewed information on the ecology and biogeochemistry of fire in Africa to offer an informed perspective on the full implications of the proposal. We conclude that there is insufficient evidence that a shift to early dry season fires will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, that resultant biodiversity and ecosystem service outcomes may not be desired, and that adopting a single burning regime limits the use of fire to achieve a diverse range of goals.",

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Knowles, T, Stevens, N, Amoako, EE, Armani, M, Barbosa, C, Beale, C, Bond, W, Chidumayo, E, Courtney-Mustaphi, C, Dintwe, K, Dobson, A, Donaldson, J, Dziba, L, Govender, N, Hempson, G, Humphrey, GJ, Kimuyu, D, Laris, P, N’Dri, AB, Parr, CL, Probert, J, Ruecker, G, Smit, I, Strydom, T, Syampungani, S & Archibald, S 2025, 'Viability and desirability of financing conservation in Africa through fire management', Nature Sustainability, vol. 8, no. 3, 112568. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-024-01490-9

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AU - Knowles, Tony

AU - Stevens, Nicola

AU - Amoako, Esther Ekua

AU - Armani, Mohammed

AU - Barbosa, Chipilica

AU - Beale, Colin

AU - Bond, William

AU - Chidumayo, Emmanuel

AU - Courtney-Mustaphi, Colin

AU - Dintwe, Kebonye

AU - Dobson, Andy

AU - Donaldson, Jason

AU - Dziba, Luthando

AU - Govender, Navashni

AU - Hempson, Gareth

AU - Humphrey, Glynis Joy

AU - Kimuyu, Duncan

AU - Laris, Paul

AU - N’Dri, Aya Brigitte

AU - Parr, Catherine L.

AU - Probert, James

AU - Ruecker, Gernot

AU - Smit, Izak

AU - Strydom, Tercia

AU - Syampungani, Stephen

AU - Archibald, Sally

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ER -

Viability and desirability of financing conservation in Africa through fire management

Abstract

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