The Andean Region will host the First National Congress on fires and forest restoration
The meeting will be held on November 21 and 22 and will bring together brigade members, firefighters, forestry workers, specialists, technicians, researchers, organizations, producers and communities to address prevention, combat and recovery of areas affected by fire.
The Andean Region of the 42nd Parallel will host on November 21 and 22 the First National Congress on Combat, Prevention, Public Policies and Forest Restoration, a proposal aimed at sharing experiences and strengthening capacities against forest fires. The meeting is organized by the Association of State Workers (ATE) and the Patagonia Land Workers Cooperative (UTT), with activities planned in different parts of the Andean Region. The initiative proposes to create a space training, exchange and debate on forest fires and their environmental, social and economic impacts. National and provincial brigades, volunteer firefighters, forestry workers, specialists, technicians, researchers, organizations, producers and communities will participate. One of the main objectives will be to address fire management from a comprehensive perspective, considering the necessary actions before, during and after a fire. In terms of prevention, work will be done on territorial planning, fuel management, education, community preparation, risk reduction and strategies aimed at reducing the spread of fires. The combat axis will include experiences of brigades and conservation workers, organization and coordination of operations, tools and technologies, communications, logistics, decision-making and work in the territory. Public policies will also be addressed, with topics linked to labor rights, collective agreements, state policies and challenges related to the construction of labor and community rights. Restoration will be another of the central axes, with the analysis of experiences to recover affected areas, regenerate forests, conserve biodiversity and recover soils and water sources after the fires. The exchange of experiences of those who work daily in the territory will have a central place during the Congress, with the aim of recovering knowledge and learning built from practice. The proposal also aims to debate the challenges derived from increasingly complex fires, in a scenario crossed by climate change, the transformation of the territory and the need to strengthen fire prevention and management strategies. The choice of the Andean Region as headquarters is linked to the large-scale fires that affected the region in recent years and to the subsequent recovery processes. In this context, the Congress will seek to combine technical knowledge with the experiences of the communities and workers who carry out their activities in territories affected by fire. The first edition of the meeting aims to generate work networks, share tools and strengthen coordination between the different sectors linked to the prevention, combat and restoration of forests.
