Extreme wildfires are becoming more frequent and intense, threatening forests, biodiversity, and the people who depend on them. This paper examines fire-driven tree cover loss from 2001 to 2024 across Australia, Brazil, Canada, and the United States, comparing impacts on Indigenous- and community-held lands, protected areas, and other lands.

The findings show that Indigenous- and community-held lands have some of the lowest rates of tree cover loss, yet they face rising wildfire risks — especially in Brazil, where agricultural expansion and escaped land-clearing fires are driving dramatic increases in fire activity. 

The study highlights how climate change, deforestation, and historical fire suppression policies are fueling extreme wildfires and putting communities, ecosystems, and carbon-rich forests at risk. It also underscores the critical role of Indigenous leadership and secure land rights in preventing deforestation, reducing fire risk, and protecting biodiversity.

Key recommendations include:

  • Securing and upholding Indigenous and community land rights to strengthen forest stewardship and reduce wildfire risks.
  • Revive cultural burning traditions that safely reduce fuel loads and restore healthy fire regimes.
  • Fund and train Indigenous- and community-led fire brigades to improve local preparedness, response, and recovery.
  • Expand access to fire monitoring tools and early warning systems to detect and respond to fires more effectively.
  • Mitigate climate change by reducing emissions and protecting forests to limit the growing risk of climate-fueled fires.
  • End deforestation and land-clearing fires to prevent escaped burns that fuel extreme wildfires.

By combining scientific data with recognition of traditional knowledge, this paper provides evidence-based pathways to protect forests, combat climate change, and support community well-being.

Key Findings:

  • Indigenous- and community-held lands lose less forest overall, but a greater share of that loss is caused by wildfires compared to other lands.
  • Wildfires on Indigenous- and community-held lands are largely driven by climate change, deforestation, and restrictive fire management policies – factors largely outside their control.
  • Fire-driven tree cover loss in Indigenous- and community-held lands rose fastest in Brazil, where it increased fifteenfold between 2001 and 2024 and was fueled by deforestation and escaped land-clearing fires.
  • Australia experienced the second-highest area of forest burned, despite containing the smallest share of Indigenous- and community-held forests with most loss occurring during the 2019–20 fire season, driven primarily by record heat and drought intensified by climate change.