Managing south-east Asia’s savannas: challenges and holistic approaches through community-based fire management

Abstract

Savannas, characterised by a continuous grass layer and discontinuous tree layer, are widespread globally and highly flammable during dry seasons, contributing to 90% of annual global burned areas and significant emissions. Asian savannas, often mismanaged owing to structural variability and misclassification as ‘poor forests’, face excessive or insufficient fire regimes. Addressing trans-boundary haze and climate mitigation requires improved understanding and sustainable management. This paper addresses savanna management challenges, particularly misclassified dry dipterocarp forests in the Lower Mekong, by synthesising knowledge on their distribution and the role of fire use by local communities, and recommends holistic, community-based fire management, integrated planning and incentives.