Forestry: A Proactive Approach to Wildfire Prevention

In the summer of 2023, Nova Scotians experienced loss and fear because of record wildfires. While forest fires can have short-term effects on our personal lives, they have long-term effects on our environment. The British Columbia Centre for Innovation and Clean Energy (CICE) and Innovation Breakthrough Energy Technologies (IBET) released a report about the effects of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and its necessity for limiting global warming. 

Wildfires Make Climate Change Worse

The “Catalyzing Carbon Dioxide Removal at Scale” report examines the technological and economic aspects of removing carbon dioxide from our atmosphere. It stresses its essential role in reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.

While it covers the various impacts that contribute to carbon dioxide emissions, wildfires are highlighted for their role in global warming. It stated that Canada’s recent wildfire season released over 2.3 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide, which is triple the nation's average. The report also reveals a 40 percent reduction in B.C.’s wildfire emissions could prevent over 140 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually.

Wildfires Hurt Biodiversity

Besides direct impacts on global warming, wildfires are a threat to biodiversity. From 2020 to 2021, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) reported that the fire potentially affected the habitat of 508 vertebrate species.

Wildfires can also alter the forests themselves. A case study conducted in southeast Australia has found that although plants have adaptations that have been developed within their natural fire regimes, they may not be able to withstand the severity of a wildfire, causing them to be unable to survive. This could have long-lasting impacts on the understory and its seed bank.

Active Forest Management Reduces Wildfire Risk

We are now well aware of wildfires' global impacts on our health, safety, and climate. The CDR report states that much of our forested lands that are lost globally to wildfires are unmanaged forests.

The 2020 to 2021 California megafires and their impacts on wildlife habitat article from PNAS states, "Management actions, such as prescribed fires and mechanical thinning, can curb severe fire behavior and reduce the potential negative impacts of uncharacteristic fires on wildlife.”

Forestry Prevents Fires

With many of us, our loved ones, friends, and neighbors displaced this summer; we have a deeper understanding of the need for managed forest in mitigating wildfires and climate change. With preventative management, we could lessen the risk and impact of wildfires.

Want to learn more about how to Climate-Smart Conservation? Read our blog post and paper..