
Firewise Community concepts aim to build resilience against destructive unwanted wildfires, with a focus on preventing damage to people’s homes, livelihoods and the landscape surrounding them. This includes community capacity building that teaches not only risk assessment and how to reduce risk, but also to understand the environmental drivers that put them at risk.



WHERE WE WORK
One of the key lessons that we have learned is that simply training community members is not enough. To embed active participation, especially in challenging socio–economic situations, facilitation and handholding is critical. Conflicting needs and expectations are common. Ideally, we prefer to scope the project area before introducing ourselves and the Firewise concepts, and to listen and take note of community needs, gradually leading the community towards solutions that are acceptable to all.
In Africa, Firewise Communities capacity building training, project development and implementation has taken place across South Africa, in Tanzania and Lesotho. The concepts are widely applicable across most of fire-adapted southern Africa. Funding, not a lack of requests, holds back the application of landscape-wide projects where poor people and subsistence farmers depend upon the landscape for survival.
In 2016, a LANDWORKS™ team, prompted by the potential disaster that it could envisage, undertook the scoping and planned the framework under which a Firewise Communities Programme could take place in Chile. The programme was rolled out in 2017.
The region is subject to a summer fire season and has a climate prone to periodic drought. While many lessons learned in South Africa by LANDWORKS™ are transferable to the Chilean situation, the socio-economic dynamics are very different. The concepts are, however, globally relevant and very few adaptations have been necessary to apply Firewise in South America.
Ten Chilean Firewise Communities completed their first year of proactive planning and activities in 2017, with positive feedback about how Firewise is helping their villages to reduce their risk in heavily forested as well as agricultural fire-prone landscapes.
LANDWORKS™ has established a non-profit LANDWORKS Foundation towards the end of 2017 in Chile to expand this footprint and bring additional stakeholders and funders on board.

HISTORY
The term WUI, or wildland-urban interface, was coined and described as “not being a geographical location but a set of conditions affecting communities.”
Since 2004, LANDWORKS™ has tested, adapted and developed the original concepts so that they can apply beyond what was originally envisaged in an urban context, while maintaining a close relationship of sharing and co-development with the NFPA Firewise Community USA programme. Under a Memorandum of Understanding between NFPA and LANDWORKS™, we ensure that “Firewise” has a defined meaning and application in whatever country we work. We take the custodianship seriously.
LANDWORKS™ has developed three different models, all with the basic Firewise tenants at their heart, but adapted to suit the community, socio economic and landscape variables. These vary from a basic voluntary community project to a scalable, modular, government funded Community Works platform, offering part-time employment in rural areas where paid work is scarce and poverty is dire.

FIREWISE COMMUNITY BASICS


Firewise Community Works model
We are exceptionally proud of the Firewise Community Works Programme that we run in South Africa with the support of the South African National Department of Environmental Affairs. It is replicable and scalable, and works at landscape scale in rural areas.

In terms of reducing the cost of disasters, prevention is powerful and underrated. Funds applied to risk reduction and resilience are generally well behind the cost of response and recovery. This requires a mindset change; Firewise Community Works is a route to bring both ends together.
Land management interventions for stipend-funded programmes include: invasive alien plant control; rehabilitation of degraded land; manual fuel reduction; and assistance with prescribed burning, firebreak preparation to improve livelihood security and protect assets (including environmental assets such as grazing lands), and community-based fire prevention, awareness, and education.
Human well-being is improved as communities develop a ‘can do’ attitude, become better organised and thus more resilient to climate shocks. They become better equipped to address challenges posed by land degradation, with increased self-esteem and dignity.
Overall eligibility for community grants and other resources improve as the collective community shows its commitment and ability to organise and invest in its own safety.